A book that will be a hit with young readers, especially in schools with ethnically diverse student bodies.
Debut author Cole and illustrator Embeli, in this energetic children’s book, question the importance of kids’ selecting future careers.
The narrator of this story, a curly haired, self-confident African-American girl, knows what she likes: “I believe I make the best choices for myself! / I know I can pick my favorite things from my shelf,” she rhymes. She dresses in flower prints and beads and bright colors, and when she arrives in a classroom full of kids in bland shirts, she begins to question why she stands out. Then she realizes that it’s career day and that she hasn’t brought props or a speech like her classmates have. While listening to a diverse group of her peers discuss their job choices (teacher, lawyer, astronaut, doctor, and engineer), she struggles to find a career concept for herself that feels right. At the same time, she lists the pressures of finding a “good” job. In a flower-filled, sunny dream that night, the girl decides that the only thing she wants to be when she grows up is herself. The next day, without props or a speech, she finally makes her presentation, saying that all children should embrace what makes them them instead of worrying about their future jobs, and her classmates praise her for being herself. Cole tells the story partly in verse but drops the rhymes as the children list their future job opportunities; as a result, the text scans unevenly, and its rhythmic shifts may be awkward for newly independent readers. But despite this faltering rhythm, it’s an encouraging story about a girl’s ability to regain her confidence and share what she believes that will resonate with children who aren’t as sure of themselves as the narrator is. Embeli effectively captures the narrator’s spirit and struggle with bright, colorful illustrations that frequently feature backgrounds in a tie-dye style.
A book that will be a hit with young readers, especially in schools with ethnically diverse student bodies.Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4835-9000-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: BookBaby
Review Posted Online: Feb. 13, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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