CHRISTMAS FOR GRETA AND GRACIE

Name: CHRISTMAS FOR GRETA AND GRACIE
Author: Yasmeen Ismail
ISBN: 978-0-7636-8943-8

by Yasmeen Ismail ; illustrated by Yasmeen Ismail ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2016

This one has it all: original characters, an exciting plot, dazzling illustrations, and the triumph of an underdog (or...

bookshelf

Two rabbit sisters prepare for Christmas together, but only one sister gets to meet Santa on Christmas Eve.

Big sister Greta makes all the decisions, does all the talking, and gets all the attention, while little sister Gracie is cautious and deliberate, quiet and polite. Ismail’s hilarious story is cleverly told with just a few lines of narrative text per page, stating the basic developments of the plot in an understated way while the deeper subtext unfolds through speech balloons set in a typeface that looks like a child’s printing. Garrulous Greta has plenty to say in her domineering way, while little Gracie asks innocent questions and tries to state her own preferences. When a store clerk asks Gracie what she thinks Santa is like, Greta butts in with a long, page-filling answer, followed by Gracie’s succinct, “He is magic.” On Christmas Eve, Gracie gets up by herself and bravely goes through the dark house to the living room. She shares cookies and conversation with Santa Claus himself (a white human), and on Christmas morning, Greta learns that quiet little sisters sometimes come out on top. Vibrant, loose watercolor illustrations integrate seamlessly with the text, with multiple pastel speech balloons expertly worked into the art in creative ways.

This one has it all: original characters, an exciting plot, dazzling illustrations, and the triumph of an underdog (or underbunny). More Greta and Gracie, please. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-7636-8943-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Nosy Crow

Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

- BOOK REVIEW
MY BROTHER IS AN AVOCADO
by Tracy Darnton ; illustrated by Yasmeen Ismail

- BOOK REVIEW
TAKE OFF YOUR BRAVE
by Nadim ; illustrated by Yasmeen Ismail

- BOOK REVIEW
<i>LOVE</i> BY SOPHIA
by Jim Averbeck ; illustrated by Yasmeen Ismail

bookshelf

CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

bookshelf

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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

bookshelf

ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

bookshelf

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)