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FUCHSIA FIERCE

Name: FUCHSIA FIERCE
Author: Christianne Jones
ISBN: 978-1-62370-786-6

by Christianne Jones ; illustrated by Kelly Canby ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 8, 2016

A pat lesson in an assertively colored package.

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A little girl overcomes her fears to live up to her dramatic name.

Fuchsia Fierce is anything but fierce. She is a tiny, timid white gal. Despite the text’s insistence that “she was scared to try new things or stand out in a crowd,” she does have fuchsia hair and fuchsia clothing, and she wears patterns on top of patterns of polka dots and stripes. Not exactly inconspicuous. Regardless, she is shy. Her parents decide to send her to Camp Confidence. While there, nothing changes. She continues to make excuses to get out of activities. Finally she realizes that she is bored, and everyone else is having fun. So she plucks up her courage and soars! Curious readers may wonder why—if this is what she has always done—she hasn’t ever come to this conclusion before. Perhaps a change of scenery and community was needed. Canby’s muted backgrounds of grays, blues, and greens, with varied patterns to add flair, make Fuchsia stand out all the more (even her white skin has a fuchsia tint).

A pat lesson in an assertively colored package. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-62370-786-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Capstone Young Readers

Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016

Categories:

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THE WORLD NEEDS THE WONDER YOU SEE

by Joanna Gaines ; illustrated by Julianna Swaney ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 28, 2025

Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children.

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Interior decorator and TV personality Gaines invites readers to open their eyes and exercise their imaginations.

There’s a world to be explored out there—and only children can really take part. What does “looking for wonder” entail? Slowing down and looking up, around, and everywhere. At the outset, a group of eager, racially diverse young friends—including one who uses a wheelchair—are fully prepared for a grand adventure. They offer tips about how and where to look: Why, there’s a “grand parade” of marching ants! And, these kids add, perspective is key. A rainy day might signal gloom to some, but to those filled with wonder, showers bring “magic puddles for play”; a forest is “an enchanted world,” the ocean conceals “a spectacular city,” and the night sky boasts “extraordinary sights.” The takeaway: “Wonder is never in short supply.” It’s a robust, empowering message, as is the exhortation to “keep your mind open, and let curiosity guide the way.” Youngsters are also advised to share their discoveries. The upbeat narrative is delivered in clunky verse, but the colorful cartoonish illustrations brimming with activity and good cheer (including some adorable anthropomorphized animals in the backgrounds) make up for the textual lapses and should motivate readers to embark on their own “wonder explorations.”

Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025

ISBN: 9781400247417

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Tommy Nelson

Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WORLD NEEDS WHO YOU WERE MADE TO BE
by Joanna Gaines ; illustrated by Julianna Swaney

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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)