THE DARKEST DARK

Name: THE DARKEST DARK
Author: Chris Hadfield
ISBN: 978-0-316-39472-7

by Chris Hadfield & Kate Fillion ; illustrated by Eric Fan & Terry Fan ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 20, 2016

An uplifting, valuable addition to the “scared of the dark” bookshelf and a must for the budding space explorer (or really,...

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Young Chris is afraid of the dark until he sees the Eagle land on the moon and is moved by the beauty of space.

By day, little Chris flies his cardboard rocket on important missions, fighting imaginary ETs and heading to Mars. But by night, the blond, white boy is struggling to sleep on his own, repeatedly waking his parents. Then on July 20, 1969, he witnesses Neil Armstrong’s historic moon walk and realizes that while nothing in his dark room has changed, he has changed. Chris now wants “to explore every corner of the night sky.” Text and illustrations crescendo as the boy—whose bed is floating among fantastical imaginings in space—realizes that in the dark he is never alone, because he has dreams of possibility. The graphite illustrations, digitally colored in a cool palette, glow with a soft, luxurious sense of light. Full of rich texture and value, with captivating compositions and hidden hints, the artwork is stunning; however, the generic stylization of the main character’s face is disappointing given the amount of photographic referencing and meticulous detailing surrounding it. The book includes moving backmatter on astronaut and co-author Hadfield’s life, including photographs and illustrated mementos, and an inspiring message from Hadfield about the wonders of the night sky.

An uplifting, valuable addition to the “scared of the dark” bookshelf and a must for the budding space explorer (or really, any dreamer). (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-316-39472-7

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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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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IMANI'S MOON

by JaNay Brown-Wood ; illustrated by Hazel Mitchell ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 14, 2014

While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child...

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Imani endures the insults heaped upon her by the other village children, but she never gives up her dreams.

The Masai girl is tiny compared to the other children, but she is full of imagination and perseverance. Luckily, she has a mother who believes in her and tells her stories that will fuel that imagination. Mama tells her about the moon goddess, Olapa, who wins over the sun god. She tells Imani about Anansi, the trickster spider who vanquishes a larger snake. (Troublingly, the fact that Anansi is a West African figure, not of the Masai, goes unaddressed in both text and author’s note.) Inspired, the tiny girl tries to find new ways to achieve her dream: to touch the moon. One day, after crashing to the ground yet again when her leafy wings fail, she is ready to forget her hopes. That night, she witnesses the adumu, the special warriors’ jumping dance. Imani wakes the next morning, determined to jump to the moon. After jumping all day, she reaches the moon, meets Olapa and receives a special present from the goddess, a small moon rock. Now she becomes the storyteller when she relates her adventure to Mama. The watercolor-and-graphite illustrations have been enhanced digitally, and the night scenes of storytelling and fantasy with their glowing stars and moons have a more powerful impact than the daytime scenes, with their blander colors.

While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child to be admired. (Picture book. 5-8)