Visually rich, textually potent, a brief book that speaks volumes.
This colorful, engaging picture book in verse celebrates Indigenous American heritage.
A brown-skinned baby “blessed since birth” is cradled by a caregiver with an elegant braid as an eagle soars through the sky. Visible roots resembling nerves spread gently through both the infant’s and adult’s hair—a subtle indication that this book will focus on celebrating deep, essential familial roots. Following images of children at play and at rest, González turns her gaze to history—to “a promise…made / to ancestors before you.” She calls readers’ attention to the land, which “protects all the tribes / who celebrate her glory.” Echoes of those ancestors are depicted in images of farmers cultivating native crops, people dancing in traditional garb, and Indigenous Americans observing the arrival of European ships. Finally, the author considers present-day challenges and establishes a firm position: “Mestiza, Hispanic, Latinx, Chicano, / illegal, Indian, migrant, Mexicano— / Whatever they call you / is merely a name. / Your culture, your story, / remains just the same.” Above all, Native children’s ties to the land “cannot be undone.” Kewageshig’s (Anishinaabe) warm, richly hued images celebrating the art styles and cultural symbols of Native communities are paired with gentle, firm verse, resulting in a work that’s both a lullaby and a rallying cry. An endnote provides further information on the Indigenous tribes and nations featured in the book.
Visually rich, textually potent, a brief book that speaks volumes. (map, author’s and illustrator’s notes, websites) (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Aug. 19, 2025
ISBN: 9798888596500
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
This appealing work is an excellent addition to any emotional-intelligence shelf.
Author/illustrator Doerrfeld gives children a model for how to process difficult events and provide meaningful support to friends who need it.
Taylor is excited to build a block tower, but then a flock of birds swoops in and knocks it all down. Different animal friends try to help, in ways that cleverly mirror their nature: the bear shouts, the ostrich buries its head in the wreckage, and the snake hisses about revenge. But what Taylor (who is never referred to with gendered pronouns) really needs is to explore a whole range of emotional responses to loss, without being asked to perform any specific feeling. A cuddly rabbit shows up and just listens, giving Taylor—an expressive child with light skin, curly dark hair, and blue-and-white–striped one-piece pajamas—space for the whole process, going from grief to anger to resolution. The illustrations are spare yet textured, and the pace is excellent for reading aloud, with lots of opportunities for funny voices and discussion starters about supporting anyone through a hard time. Despite the obvious takeaway, this story doesn’t feel overly moralizing or didactic. Keeping the focus on the small tragedy of tumbled blocks makes it young-child–appropriate, with opportunities for deeper connections with an older audience.
This appealing work is an excellent addition to any emotional-intelligence shelf. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7352-2935-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2017
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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