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WE ARE FREE, YOU AND ME

An upbeat and informative book for the next generation’s littlest leaders.

Activist and athlete Kaepernick and his partner, radio and TV personality Diab, introduce young readers to the idea of universal rights.

Positive affirmations abound as children are told about their various freedoms: to move and play, to be safe, to live, to speak, and even to grow. Jose’s illustrations follow two young Black children taking part in a variety of activities alongside members of their diverse community: building a playground, painting a mural featuring an image of Malcolm X, playing music and dancing, and protesting in front of a school. Writing in rhyming verse, the authors set an optimistic tone: “Your truth is your strength, like the roots of a tree.” They acknowledge that “life can be tough, and not always fair” but urge young readers to persist. The cartoonish visuals tend toward the predictable, often directly reflecting the text; as the authors encourage youngsters to “weather the storm on your path and not stray,” the accompanying images show a child gazing up at dark clouds and hunkering down under a folded newspaper held by a loving parent. Still, Kaepernick and Diab’s simple but resonant words are ideal for sparking conversation among youngsters. In their authors’ note, they discuss Know Your Rights Camp, the nonprofit they founded to further the well-being of Black and brown communities; the book ends with the organization’s 10 tenets.

An upbeat and informative book for the next generation’s littlest leaders. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024

ISBN: 9781339042947

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024

ISBN: 9780593702901

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024

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