Warmth, love, family, and memories bring joy in this poignant tribute to grandpas.
Two children remember their departed grandfathers’ love in Bradbury’s picture book.
Amber (who has brown skin and black hair) and Nate (who is fair-skinned and has brown hair) remember their grandfathers and moments they spent together. Amber recalls “waiting to see his green Chevy pick-up truck rumble up the driveway” and going off on an adventure. For Nate, learning “how to catch the biggest fish in the pond” and clapping as it was released and swam away comes to mind. Learning to ride a bicycle, eating tomatoes right out of the garden, and going to the park together elicit feelings of love and togetherness. Each double-page spread features a beautiful color illustration by Johnson reflecting the particular memory. As the book ends, the author lovingly shares, “If Grandpa were here... ...and he IS here, inside your heart and mind. Because his love and memory will always be with you, each and every day.” The story includes reflections from the older Amber and Nate on changes (and surprises) that occurred in their lives as they grew up. The illustrations add depth to the story as they demonstrate the closeness of each child to their grandparent as they spend time together. The details evoke simpler times, eating banana splits, fishing, and going to ballgames.
Warmth, love, family, and memories bring joy in this poignant tribute to grandpas.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 21
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.
All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.
Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees.
After Duncan finds his crayons gone—yet again—letters arrive, detailing their adventures in friendship.
Eleven crayons send missives from their chosen spots throughout Duncan’s home (and one from his classroom). Red enjoys the thrill of extinguishing “pretend fires” with Duncan’s toy firetruck. White, so often dismissed as invisible, finds a new calling subbing in for the missing queen on the black-and-white chessboard. “Now everyone ALWAYS SEES ME!…(Well, half the time!)” Pink’s living the dream as a pastry chef helming the Breezy Bake Oven, “baking everything from little cupcakes…to…OTHER little cupcakes!” Teal, who’s hitched a ride to school in Duncan’s backpack, meets the crayons in the boy’s desk and writes, “Guess what? I HAVE A TWIN! How come you never told me?” Duncan wants to see his crayons and “meet their new friends.” A culminating dinner party assembles the crayons and their many guests: a table tennis ball, dog biscuits, a well-loved teddy bear, and more. The premise—personified crayons, away and back again—is well-trammeled territory by now, after over a dozen books and spinoffs, and Jeffers once more delivers his signature cartooning and hand-lettering. Though the pages lack the laugh-out-loud sight gags and side-splittingly funny asides of previous outings, readers—especially fans of the crayons’ previous outings—will enjoy checking in on their pals.
Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9780593622360
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
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