Big emotions made relatable for young readers.
A child turns fear into peace while figuring out how to deal with monster-shaped anxiety.
The light-skinned, blond-haired girl cowers, hides, and flees from the scribbly black blob. Wherever the child goes, it follows, and she feels alone in her struggle. “I asked other people to help me, but nobody else could see it,” she explains. “I don’t even know if they believed me…” Finally, unable to continue, the girl stops and listens to the monster. She comes to a realization: “I understood that it didn’t want to hurt me. It was there to warn me of danger!” The creature is her anxiety, and it’s simply sending her warning signs. “When I take on too many things at once” or “when I don’t look after myself properly,” the creature “appears and yells, ‘STOP!’” The child realizes that it’s important not to push away loved ones trying to help; eventually, she learns to transform her seemingly terrifying emotions into a sense of serenity. The dramatic illustrations convey a range of emotions; early on, the looming black monster menaces her, while later, lush scenes depict a human heart bursting with flowers and the girl sitting in a rocking chair in a blooming meadow. Translated from Spanish, this book convincingly conveys the pressure of anxiety, though the word itself isn’t used until an author’s note that follows the story.
Big emotions made relatable for young readers. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2024
ISBN: 9788419464743
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Cuento de Luz
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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