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WE REALLY DO CARE

Name: WE REALLY DO CARE
Author: Tami Lewis Brown
ISBN: 978-1-9848-3630-4

by Tami Lewis Brown ; illustrated by Tania de Regil ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 3, 2019

One-sidedness sinks this well-meaning tale.

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A tale of empathy and inclusion.

A white child and a brown-skinned child, both nameless and with button eyes and simply drawn facial features, cross paths in a peaceful city park. Initially, the white child emphatically claims ownership in bold phrases familiar to young ears: “My ball belongs to me,” and “You can’t have my mom.” In a turnkey double-page spread, a park scene on the left shows green grass, a gentle tree trunk, and the white child’s family on a picnic blanket, while across the gutter is vast negative space as the white child notices the brown-skinned child, alone, on the ground end of a seesaw. The negative space creates the pause. “Wait.” What unfolds is a series of broad questions about fear of loneliness and loss. The brown-skinned child plays and shares with the formerly possessive white child but never says a word. It is assumed the brown-skinned child does not have a family, and while the white family welcomes the lonely child, why that child is alone in the park is never resolved. While a lot can be said for unspoken understanding, the brown-skinned child’s voicelessness makes all the interactions feel one-sided and assumptive. A “we” narrative about caring unfurls, stretching to include families, nature, and animals across the world. While micro-interactions are inevitably connected to global networks of caring, the leap from sharing toys to global togetherness is preachy and contrived.

One-sidedness sinks this well-meaning tale. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-9848-3630-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Philomel

Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ART IS LIFE
by Tami Lewis Brown ; illustrated by Keith Negley

- BOOK REVIEW
PERKIN'S PERFECT PURPLE
by Tami Lewis Brown & Debbie Loren Dunn ; illustrated by Francesca Sanna

- BOOK REVIEW
INSTRUCTIONS NOT INCLUDED
by Tami Lewis Brown & Debbie Loren Dunn ; illustrated by Chelsea Beck

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK LOST AND FOUND

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 18, 2026

Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed.

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Beep! Beep! Beep! Toad and Little Blue Truck get ready for a hayride.

After the titular vehicle is loaded with hay, Toad is nowhere to be found. “Beep! Beep! Beep! Where are you, Toad?” asks Little Blue Truck. All the barnyard animals look for him. Sheep searches the meadow. Goose and Duck check the pond. Others pitch in, too, but Toad seems to have disappeared…until Hen hears snoring coming from the pile of hay in the back of Little Blue Truck. Although the text’s scansion is imperfect in places (adults may want to pre-read to ensure a smooth read-aloud), the bouncy meter and rhyming text nevertheless capture the energy of the search and the farmyard community’s concern for Toad’s safety, making this a solid storytime choice. Eye-catching illustrations with rich, fully saturated colors balance the right level of detail while still highlighting the animal that is the focus of each verse. By introducing one farm animal at a time, Schertle also helps the youngest readers begin to identify barnyard animals by name and understand their unique farm homes. Traditional animal sounds are part of the text, and listeners will add them to their vocabulary. It all ends with the promised hayride, bringing the tale to a joyous ending.

Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2026

ISBN: 9780063436121

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

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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)