Molly, a grade schooler with a few quirks, gets help from her two best friends in solving a problem that’s bothering her.
Molly likes to count things, shuns food not of certain colors, and eats some other foods only in even numbers. Her parents are both aware of her extreme focus and completely accepting of it: “That’s just who you are,” they say. Molly’s best friends, one a perceptive black girl and the other a white boy with an expansive imagination—Molly is biracial, with a black mom and white dad—are just as understanding. When Molly becomes consumed with the need to count the number of Skittles in a big jar on their principal’s desk, the two naturally pitch in to help her find a way to get into a little trouble—just enough to lead to an office visit—and then methods for both luring the principal away and giving Molly the opportunity to complete the count. Their clever problem-solving skills are as much on display as their empathy with Molly’s unique personality. Large-print chapters are brief and illustration-rich, and each concludes with a series of milestone boxes that show emergent readers how much of the book they’ve already gotten through. With likable characters, an amusing situation, and lots of reinforcement for readers, this effort is sure to be a hit. What underlies Molly’s quirks is never explored within the story, leaving her behavior open to interpretation.
An empathetic introduction to a new series of early chapter books. (Fiction. 5-7)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-295341-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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Emotional storm clouds come between two unicorn friends.
Harking back to Not Quite Narwhal (2017) in both cast and tone, Sima offers a friendship tale in which Kelp’s close and aptly named pal Nimbus acquires a dark little cloud that rains when she feels down. The more she tries to ignore it or bottle it up, the bigger it gets…until it finally breaks out in a storm that sends her fleeing all company to huddle alone in a gloomy forest. There, she discovers that recognizing and getting to know the cloud actually makes it shrink—and just as she’s feeling a bit better, Kelp gallops into view, which sets the stage for a joyful reunion depicted in the sweet, softly hued illustrations with an exuberant rainbow swirl. Kelp, who turns out to be “a very good listener,” acknowledges the cloud matter-of-factly, and Nimbus comes to understand that though she may have up days and down days to come, weathering the latter with an accepting friend will make them easier. If some young readers subject to or familiar with similar storms (or a bit foggy on what a metaphor is) need explanation or discussion about depression to clear the air, the comforting message nonetheless shines brightly. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Weathers heavy themes with breezy sensitivity…and unicorns! (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781665916981
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
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With such short arms, how can Tiny T. Rex give a sad friend a hug?
Fleck goes for cute in the simple, minimally detailed illustrations, drawing the diminutive theropod with a chubby turquoise body and little nubs for limbs under a massive, squared-off head. Impelled by the sight of stegosaurian buddy Pointy looking glum, little Tiny sets out to attempt the seemingly impossible, a comforting hug. Having made the rounds seeking advice—the dino’s pea-green dad recommends math; purple, New Age aunt offers cucumber juice (“That is disgusting”); red mom tells him that it’s OK not to be able to hug (“You are tiny, but your heart is big!”), and blue and yellow older sibs suggest practice—Tiny takes up the last as the most immediately useful notion. Unfortunately, the “tree” the little reptile tries to hug turns out to be a pterodactyl’s leg. “Now I am falling,” Tiny notes in the consistently self-referential narrative. “I should not have let go.” Fortunately, Tiny lands on Pointy’s head, and the proclamation that though Rexes’ hugs may be tiny, “I will do my very best because you are my very best friend” proves just the mood-lightening ticket. “Thank you, Tiny. That was the biggest hug ever.” Young audiences always find the “clueless grown-ups” trope a knee-slapper, the overall tone never turns preachy, and Tiny’s instinctive kindness definitely puts him at (gentle) odds with the dinky dino star of Bob Shea’s Dinosaur Vs. series.
Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7033-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
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