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NIGHT SHADOWS

Name: NIGHT SHADOWS
Author: Barbara DaCosta
ISBN: 978-1-64421-024-6

by Barbara DaCosta ; illustrated by Ed Young ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 26, 2021

Conversations about motivations and actions will abound as children absorb the impact of grace.

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Nocturnal shadows are what fall on an old woman’s garage wall as kids repeatedly spray it with graffiti.

On the first evening, Mrs. Lucy’s body also casts an imposing shadow in her doorway’s yellow light as the children escape into the blue darkness. The dramatic, diagonal figure recalls Young’s rendering of the mother catching her son in DaCosta’s Nighttime Ninja (2012). The next day, a group of boys—silhouetted as a unit—exiles a younger sister as they prepare to play baseball. Tasha encounters Mrs. Lucy painting over the words (which readers never see). The girl offers to help on this day and the next, milk and cookies are her compensation. Skin tone is created with brown paper. The woman’s sumptuous robe is fashioned from crinkled gold paper, overlaid with soft blue and lacy green fibers; the girl’s shirt is a marbleized magenta and blue pattern. On the third night, the victim hides in the lilac bushes and is shocked that this time the sole vandal is Tasha. Her plaintive explanation: “I just—I just wanted to come over again.” Speechless, the woman allows compassion to prevail, promising they have a lot of work to do—together. The rich, restrained text and visually exciting collages build suspense and surprise in tandem. Readers will turn back, now detecting subtle clues. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 64.9% of actual size.)

Conversations about motivations and actions will abound as children absorb the impact of grace. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Jan. 26, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-64421-024-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Triangle Square Books for Young Readers

Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
MIGHTY MOBY
by Ed Young & Barbara DaCosta ; illustrated by Ed Young

- BOOK REVIEW
NIGHTTIME NINJA
by Barbara DaCosta & illustrated by Ed Young

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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...

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)