An appealing story for anyone who’s struggled with curly hair.
A girl learns about her curly hair in Baker’s picture book.
On a hike with her dad, Jem notes that her hair resembles fiddlehead ferns, so she decides to call it Fern: “Jem liked having a name for her hair, especially since Fern has a mind of her own.” On school picture day, Jem styles her hair into a tight bun, but it’s humid out, and her hairstyle frizzes. She cries to her dad, who admits he doesn’t know how to style Jem’s hair, because her mom, whom they both miss, always did that. (Jem and her mom are portrayed with different shades of brown skin, and her father with pale skin.) Daddy brings her to Sage’s salon, where the stylist explains what hair is made of, why it’s straight or curly, and how to care for curly strands. Sage sends Jem home with hair cream, a sleep bonnet, and beautiful, supple curls. Interesting facts about curly hair close the book. Baker tells a wonderfully compassionate and sweet-natured story about how learning more about how our bodies work, and how to care for them, can make a tremendous difference in how we feel about ourselves. Fadhilah’s soft, colorful illustrations are an absolute delight—beautiful, engaging, and informative while showing Jem’s hair in all of its states.
An appealing story for anyone who’s struggled with curly hair.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2026
ISBN: 9798993696416
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Bobiiko Books
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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