Still, the Langs get across that there are all types of kids in this world, and teachers could easily springboard to asking...
Rhyming verse explores individuality among kids.
“Some kids are sloppy. / Some kids are neat. / Some kids chew their food so / you can see what they eat.” Some pick their noses, some wear socks with sandals, some leap, some crawl, some prefer the sand to the water. Whether one is a “shy kid, / a pie kid, / an always-asking-why kid...a book kid, / a hook kid, / a really-loves-to-cook kid, / to all kids we say, // each one of you is special. / KID, KID, HOORAY!” As the kids are all animals, size and race are not attributes addressed, but the illustrations do show kids with disabilities—the kid who paints does so digitally from a wheelchair, and the “book kid” reads Braille. Max Lang’s illustrations are a mix of photo backgrounds and props and expressive cartoon animals cut from white paper and still sporting white borders. Not all the rhymes work well: “Some kids are good at math. / Some kids need lots of sleep. // Some kids run real fast. / Some kids love to eat.” And the illustration for this last is a bit troubling—of the six watching the racers while stuffing their faces, only one could be said to have a waistline.
Still, the Langs get across that there are all types of kids in this world, and teachers could easily springboard to asking students to write about themselves. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-553-53783-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Sadly, the storytelling runs aground.
A little red sleigh has big Christmas dreams.
Although the detailed, full-color art doesn’t anthropomorphize the protagonist (which readers will likely identify as a sled and not a sleigh), a close third-person text affords the object thoughts and feelings while assigning feminine pronouns. “She longed to become Santa’s big red sleigh,” reads an early line establishing the sleigh’s motivation to leave her Christmas-shop home for the North Pole. Other toys discourage her, but she perseveres despite creeping self-doubt. A train and truck help the sleigh along, and when she wishes she were big, fast, and powerful like them, they offer encouragement and counsel patience. When a storm descends after the sleigh strikes out on her own, an unnamed girl playing in the snow brings her to a group of children who all take turns riding the sleigh down a hill. When the girl brings her home, the sleigh is crestfallen she didn’t reach the North Pole. A convoluted happily-ever-after ending shows a note from Santa that thanks the sleigh for giving children joy and invites her to the North Pole next year. “At last she understood what she was meant to do. She would build her life up spreading joy, one child at a time.” Will she leave the girl’s house to be gifted to other children? Will she stay and somehow also reach ever more children? Readers will be left wondering. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 31.8% of actual size.)
Sadly, the storytelling runs aground. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-72822-355-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
Sentimental but effective.
A book aimed at easing separation anxiety and reinforcing bonds.
Twins Liza and Jeremy awaken during a thunderstorm and go to their mother for comfort. She reassures them that they’re safe and says, “You know we’re always together, no matter what,” when they object to returning to bed. She then explains that when she was a child her mother told her about the titular “Invisible String,” encouraging them to envision it as a link between them no matter what. “People who love each other are always connected by a very special String made of love,” she tells them, reinforcing this idea as they proceed to imagine various scenarios, fantastic and otherwise, that might cause them to be separated in body. She also affirms that this string can “reach all the way to Uncle Brian in heaven” and that it doesn’t go away if she’s angry with them or when they have conflicts. As they go to bed, reassured, the children, who present white, imagine their friends and diverse people around the world connected with invisible strings, promoting a vision of global unity and empathy. While the writing often feels labored and needlessly repetitive, Lew-Vriethoff’s playful cartoon art enhances and lightens the message-driven text, which was originally published in 2000 with illustrations by Geoff Stevenson.
Sentimental but effective. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-48623-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2018
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