Grounded in both nature and nurture: a tale sure to affirm the nonconformist’s spirit.
A girl with unconventional passions finds her community.
Shocking her parents—both expert gardeners—baby Prunella arrives not with the proverbial green thumb, but a purple one. Accordingly, Prunella’s plant affinities run to the spiny, carnivorous, fungal, and poisonous sorts. While her parents don’t always understand her predilections, they nurture them anyway. From bladderwort to voodoo lilies, her plants “pinched and poked and reeked.” Neighborhood kids avoid Prunella and her garden. Like a species with protective spines, Prunella grows “prickly,” eschewing her peers. Though concerned, her parents know that her “strong roots” will help her “blossom” when she’s ready. Opportunity arrives with Oliver, a young aspiring botanist who can correctly identify Prunella’s plants and convinces her to diagnose his ailing Venus flytrap. Prunella begins to open up as Oliver and his sister, future mycologist Clem, enter her life, planting a “tiny, hopeful friend-shaped seed.” The siblings connect her with a “bouquet of botanists” (as well as “one very curious entomologist”), and the fruit from a thorny new plant—blackberries!—stains everyone’s thumbs purple. Keane supplies accomplished, episodic, animation-influenced illustrations in a palette of blue-gray, ochre, and red. Kids attracted to unusual plants will encounter an equally satisfying theme: Cultivate your passions, and your people will show up. Prunella and her parents are brown-skinned with straight black hair, Oliver and Clem are Black, and the community is diverse.
Grounded in both nature and nurture: a tale sure to affirm the nonconformist’s spirit. (information on “Prunella’s persnickety plants”) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781665921732
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024
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
Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind.
The cool beans again step up to do a timorous fellow legume a fava…this time at the pool.
Will a rash decision to tackle the multistory super-slide lead to another embarrassing watery fail for our shy protagonist? Nope, for up the stairs right behind comes a trio of cool beans, each a different type and color, all clad in nothing but dark shades. They make an offer: “It’s not as scary if you go with friends!” As the knobby nerd explains once the thrilling ride down is done, “They all realized that I just needed some encouragement and support.” Just to make sure that both cool and uncool readers get the message, the narrator lets us know that “there are plenty of kind folks who have my back. They’re always there when I need them.” The beany bonhomie doesn’t end at the bottom of the slide, with all gliding down to the shallow end of the pool (“3 INCHES. NO DIVING”) for a splashy finale. This latest early reader starring characters from John and Oswald’s immensely popular Food Group series will be a hit with fans. Fun accessories, such as a bean who rocks pink cat-eye frames, add some pizzazz to the chromatically and somatotypically varied cast.
Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind. (Easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780063329560
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
