A quiet tale to spur useful conversation about blame, accountability, and apologies.
The elephant and human child introduced in How To Cheer Up a Friend (2024) continue to deal with the ups and downs of friendship.
The two carry a large basket full of colorful blocks, and the brown-skinned youngster quickly constructs a tower, only for the elephant to place a yellow truck on top, sending the blocks tumbling. Does the pachyderm take responsibility? At first, the animal looks a bit embarrassed. Meanwhile, an unseen narrator poses thoughtful questions: “What do you do… // when something you’ve done… / really, really / upsets someone? // Do you say it’s something you’d never do? / A squirrel did it— / of course not you!” The child is visibly upset, and the elephant’s mind races (thought bubbles indicate the pachyderm’s varied emotional responses). Eventually, the elephant utters those magic words: “I’m sorry.” The narration continues: “The answer you want might not come right away. / But if you wait… / and wait… / they might finally say… / ‘I forgive you. We’re okay.’” McNeill’s softly hued, smudgy mixed-media illustrations, a combination of gouache, pencil, and cut paper, blend with Calmenson’s plainspoken text for a straightforward yet sensitive exploration of a situation encountered by most kids; the expressive elephant cuts an especially sweet figure—initially hiding behind a tree, drooping with worry, and, at last, cheerfully helping to construct a new tower.
A quiet tale to spur useful conversation about blame, accountability, and apologies. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 17, 2026
ISBN: 9781665958394
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance.
A boy with wings learns to be himself and inspires others like him to soar, too.
Norman, a “perfectly normal” boy, never dreamed he might grow wings. Afraid of what his parents might say, he hides his new wings under a big, stuffy coat. Although the coat hides his wings from the world, Norman no longer finds joy in bathtime, playing at the park, swimming, or birthday parties. With the gentle encouragement of his parents, who see his sadness, Norman finds the courage to come out of hiding and soar. Percival (The Magic Looking Glass, 2017, etc.) depicts Norman with light skin and dark hair. Black-and-white illustrations show his father with dark skin and hair and his mother as white. The contrast of black-and-white illustrations with splashes of bright color complements the story’s theme. While Norman tries to be “normal,” the world and people around him look black and gray, but his coat stands out in yellow. Birds pop from the page in pink, green, and blue, emphasizing the joy and beauty of flying free. The final spread, full of bright color and multiracial children in flight, sets the mood for Norman’s realization on the last page that there is “no such thing as perfectly normal,” but he can be “perfectly Norman.”
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-785-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
Still, this young boy’s imagination is a powerful force for helping him deal with life, something that should be true for...
Oliver, of first-day-of-school alligator fame, is back, imagining adventures and still struggling to find balance between introversion and extroversion.
“When Oliver found his egg…” on the playground, mint-green backgrounds signifying Oliver’s flight into fancy slowly grow larger until they take up entire spreads; Oliver’s creature, white and dinosaurlike with orange polka dots, grows larger with them. Their adventures include sharing treats, sailing the seas and going into outer space. A classmate’s yell brings him back to reality, where readers see him sitting on top of a rock. Even considering Schmid’s scribbly style, readers can almost see the wheels turning in his head as he ponders the girl and whether or not to give up his solitary play. “But when Oliver found his rock… // Oliver imagined many adventures // with all his friends!” This last is on a double gatefold that opens to show the children enjoying the creature’s slippery curves. A final wordless spread depicts all the children sitting on rocks, expressions gleeful, wondering, waiting, hopeful. The illustrations, done in pastel pencil and digital color, again make masterful use of white space and page turns, although this tale is not nearly as funny or tongue-in-cheek as Oliver and His Alligator (2013), nor is its message as clear and immediately accessible to children.
Still, this young boy’s imagination is a powerful force for helping him deal with life, something that should be true for all children but sadly isn’t. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: July 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-7573-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
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