A fun fantasy about a child’s puppy problems.
A mischievous Valentine’s Day puppy heals a little girl’s broken heart in this humorous picture book for young children.
Young Emily puts her heart into her homemade valentine for the boy next door, but it falls apart in his careless hands. Inconsolable Emily vows to “never give her heart away again”—not even to her concerned parents’ gift: an adorable, floppy-eared, Labrador puppy named Haley. Emily isn’t sure that Haley can be trusted, especially after her efforts to teach the pup good habits initially go awry. Bené (I’ll Always Clap for You, 2015), debut co-author Lyn, and debut illustrator Petersen reveal just how untrustworthy Haley can be in a pleasing integration of simple narrative and digital illustration. Pages of easy-to-read, centered text, under images with a soft, brushed look, reveal Haley’s thefts of various household items. These alternate with whimsical, wordless pages showing the pup enjoying her ill-gotten gains: lounging on an armchair, wearing Emily’s glasses, and reading a book titled How to Be a Cat Burglar; racing off in a car with Mom’s keys; playing a round of golf with Dad’s club; and more. But can Haley steal Emily’s heart? The cuddly ending is also sure to please its 4-to-8-year-old target audience.
A fun fantasy about a child’s puppy problems.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2017
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 47
Publisher: The dot press Plc
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A joyful celebration.
Families in a variety of configurations play, dance, and celebrate together.
The rhymed verse, based on a song from the Noodle Loaf children’s podcast, declares that “Families belong / Together like a puzzle / Different-sized people / One big snuggle.” The accompanying image shows an interracial couple of caregivers (one with brown skin and one pale) cuddling with a pajama-clad toddler with light brown skin and surrounded by two cats and a dog. Subsequent pages show a wide array of families with members of many different racial presentations engaging in bike and bus rides, indoor dance parties, and more. In some, readers see only one caregiver: a father or a grandparent, perhaps. One same-sex couple with two children in tow are expecting another child. Smart’s illustrations are playful and expressive, curating the most joyful moments of family life. The verse, punctuated by the word together, frequently set in oversized font, is gently inclusive at its best but may trip up readers with its irregular rhythms. The song that inspired the book can be found on the Noodle Loaf website.
A joyful celebration. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22276-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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