Fun and frisson in just the right balance.
Two siblings take charge of Papa’s scary bedtime story in Murguia’s sweet and chilling nighttime tale.
As brown-skinned siblings Grace and Walter settle down for bed, Papa (also brown-skinned) offers to tell them a bedtime story. To Walter’s dismay, Grace excitedly demands a scary story, and Papa begins with two brave siblings in a forest that is “very, very... / dark.” When Walter exclaims that the dark is too scary, Papa’s story shifts from the forest to a meadow alight with fireflies. After a moment, Grace insists that fireflies are not scary, and Papa’s story turns again—the siblings now facing creatures hidden in the bushes. “Too scary!” Walter objects again, and Papa reveals that the creatures are a group of tired, furry animals settling down to sleep. But Grace still wants something scary, and as the story turns dark once again, both children must summon their courage to banish a shadowy monster and triumph over the story and their fear. Illustrations that adeptly transition between the creepy and cheerful sides of the story’s nighttime world perfectly complement the equally nimble text. Directed by the children’s input, the shifts from dark to light in Papa’s voice and story tone are dynamically mirrored by similar shifts of palette and mood in the art.
Fun and frisson in just the right balance. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 27, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-73242-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Levine/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A visually striking, engaging picture book that sends the message that everyone counts.
A playful counting book also acts as a celebration of family and human diversity.
Shannon’s text is delivered in spare, rhythmic, lilting verse that begins with one and counts up to 10 as it presents different groupings of things and people in individual families, always emphasizing the unitary nature of each combination. “One is six. One line of laundry. One butterfly’s legs. One family.” Gomez’s richly colored pictures clarify and expand on all that the text lists: For “six,” a picture showing six members of a multigenerational family of color includes a line of laundry with six items hanging from it outside of their windows, as well as the painting of a six-legged butterfly that a child in the family is creating. While text never directs the art to depict diverse individuals and family constellations, Gomez does just this in her illustrations. Interracial families are included, as are depictions of men with their arms around each other, and a Sikh man wearing a turban. This inclusive spirit supports the text’s culminating assertion that “One is one and everyone. One earth. One world. One family.”
A visually striking, engaging picture book that sends the message that everyone counts. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-374-30003-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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