Representation of a Black farmer adds value to this agriculture-themed book for young readers.
A Black family visits a farm in Johnson’s counting picture book.
The narrator—one of three young granddaughters—notes that Granddad, a farmer, “has one hundred acres of land. He loves tractors and machines. He loves crops and animals. He loves fresh air and dirt.” Their trips to his farm include helping with animal-related chores. The location, according to the afterword, is based on that of Johnson’s North Carolinian grandfather. Biscoe’s detailed, full-color cartoon images of apple trees, strawberries, tomatoes, roaming horses, and diverse livestock evoke a prosaic, all-encompassing mythological American archetype. There’s no evidence that Granddad has hired help for his seven adorable cows, eight pigs, nine chickens, or for his many acres of orchard, which obfuscates how much labor the work entails. However, this cute story offers a refreshing depiction of a Black family’s connection to familial land and of how agricultural knowledge is passed on. Hints of a buy-local ethos are also apparent: “Granddad sells tomatoes, spinach, green beans, potatoes, and peppers to local markets.” Simple counting tasks—involving one farmhouse or four deer—alternate with longer, more involved paragraphs about farm work; a read-aloud may be modified for younger or older children. Backmatter includes advice on how parents can engage kids in counting and literacy-promoting conversations.
Representation of a Black farmer adds value to this agriculture-themed book for young readers.Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2022
ISBN: 9798986307800
Page Count: 32
Publisher: West Oak Lane Kids, LLC
Review Posted Online: Aug. 8, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Nothing new here but a nonetheless congenial matriculant in publishing’s autumnal rite of back-to-school offerings.
The Crayons head back to class in this latest series entry.
Daywalt’s expository text lays out the basics as various Crayons wave goodbye to the beach, choose a first-day outfit, greet old friends, and make new ones. As in previous outings, the perennially droll illustrations and hand-lettered Crayon-speak drive the humor. The ever wrapperless Peach, opining, “What am I going to wear?” surveys three options: top hat and tails, a chef’s toque and apron, and a Santa suit. New friends Chunky Toddler Crayon (who’s missing a bite-sized bit of their blue point) and Husky Toddler Crayon speculate excitedly on their common last name: “I wonder if we’re related!” White Crayon, all but disappearing against the page’s copious white space, sits cross-legged reading a copy of H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man. And Yellow and Orange, notable for their previous existential argument about the color of the sun, find agreement in science class: Jupiter, clearly, is yellow AND orange. Everybody’s excited about art class—“Even if they make a mess. Actually…ESPECIALLY if they make a mess!” Here, a spread of crayoned doodles of butterflies, hearts, and stars is followed by one with fulsome scribbles. Fans of previous outings will spot cameos from Glow in the Dark and yellow-caped Esteban (the Crayon formerly known as Pea Green). (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nothing new here but a nonetheless congenial matriculant in publishing’s autumnal rite of back-to-school offerings. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: May 16, 2023
ISBN: 9780593621110
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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