YOU CAN BE A GOOD FRIEND (NO MATTER WHAT!)

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YOU CAN BE A GOOD FRIEND (NO MATTER WHAT!)

Name: YOU CAN BE A GOOD FRIEND (NO MATTER WHAT!)
Author: Taraji P. Henson
ISBN: 9780310160595

A LIL TJ BOOK

by Taraji P. Henson ; illustrated by Paul Kellam ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 18, 2024

A solid choice for starting discussions on bullying, friendship, and kindness.

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In actor and mental health advocate Henson’s debut picture book, a young girl facing troubles at school takes her grandma’s advice.

Lil TJ can’t wait to start school and make new friends. She has her own unique style, and she lets it shine on her first day. She participates eagerly, but at recess, a boy named Beau gives her a hard time. Beau mocks everything about her, from her small stature to the peanut butter and tomato sandwich she eats at lunch. Lil TJ starts to dull her shine. She wears plain clothes and styles her hair like the other girls in class to avoid Beau’s attention, but she’s still nervous. And will she ever make friends? Grandma Patsy, with whom Lil TJ talks almost daily on her tablet, reminds her that nurturing friendships takes time and tells her she should continue to be her sweet self. The next day at recess, Lil TJ stays inside and plays music. When other kids hear, they join her, and Beau looks nervous as he struggles with an instrument. Lil TJ remembers Grandma Patsy’s words of wisdom and takes the opportunity to turn her and Beau’s relationship around. While the message is timeless and the characters likable, the story’s resolution feels a bit too easy. Lively, expressive, cartoonlike illustrations bring the straightforward text to life. Lil TJ is Black, Beau is brown-skinned, and their class is diverse.

A solid choice for starting discussions on bullying, friendship, and kindness. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 18, 2024

ISBN: 9780310160595

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Zonderkidz

Review Posted Online: May 31, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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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

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

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

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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)