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A LITTLE COURAGE

Name: A LITTLE COURAGE
Author: Taltal Levi
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4394-3

by Taltal Levi ; illustrated by Taltal Levi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 4, 2020

This Swiss import is mildly amusing, but even a final twist fails to generate much excitement

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A miniature child explores an apartment and makes friends with a cat.

First-person narration, generally limited to one or two sentences per double-page spread, describes the child’s investigation of potted plants, various small objects, and familiar household areas. Contrasts between the straightforward text, which has a slightly formal tone, and the lighthearted action depicted in the illustrations provide humor, which helps mitigate the book’s plotless feel. The last few pages repeat the text from the first section with small variations as the child enjoys activities with the (initially feared, now accepted) cat as companion. Small enough to dance on a roll of toilet paper, the wide-eyed, apparently white child wears a yellow shirt, black shorts, and a thimble as a hat. Some of the items will be familiar to young listeners: paper clips, keys, a safety pin; others, like the thimble, might be more obscure. Background details suggest that the apartment’s occupants are two adults and a child, obliquely raising the possibility that the small-scale adventures depicted are imaginary. The artwork has the appearance of colored-pencil drawings and features a somewhat muted palette with splashes of red, yellow, and green to enliven the pages. Levi makes the most of texture, size, and perspective to create interest. Observant readers will see the cat before it’s mentioned and may enjoy spotting the insect and arachnid that appear throughout.

This Swiss import is mildly amusing, but even a final twist fails to generate much excitement . (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020

ISBN: 978-0-7358-4394-3

Page Count: 48

Publisher: NorthSouth

Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
AVOCADO MAGIC
by Taltal Levi ; illustrated by Taltal Levi

- BOOK REVIEW
MEET ME BY THE SEA
by Taltal Levi ; illustrated by Taltal Levi

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)