A subtle, provocative, and surprisingly joyous read
In a modern-day school within the Navajo Nation, the children are expected to conform, but young protagonist Holden’s imagination cannot be reined in.
As he and his classmates walk single file to recess through the school corridors, Holden stops to imagine that the pictures on the wall have come to life. Unattributed dialogue in large, bold letters—readers will assume it’s spoken by an unseen teacher—orders him to stay with the group by calling out the book’s refrain: “Fall in line, Holden!” Holden continues to lag as they walk: past the gymnasium, where students playing ball are dressed as Roman centurions; past the cafeteria, where the lunch ladies don witches’ hats and ride brooms; past the computer lab, where astronauts float in space; past the music room, where the notes morph into birds. However, when they reach their destination, Holden discovers a pleasant surprise. Debut author/illustrator Vandever grew up on Navajo land, listening to elders speak of the lasting trauma of boarding schools, as he discloses in concluding notes. His illustrations’ limited palette is effective in showing how the students toe the line. The figures are rendered as negative space with just black hair and eyes and minimal clothing details—a striking effect. Occasionally the text’s rhyme and meter seem forced, but the overall message that creativity and imagination will occur even within strict boundaries will resonate with many readers.
A subtle, provocative, and surprisingly joyous read . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-893354-50-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Salina Bookshelf
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
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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BOOK REVIEW
Though Jim may have been grumpy because a chimp’s an ape and not a monkey, readers will enjoy and maybe learn from his...
It’s a wonderful day in the jungle, so why’s Jim Panzee so grumpy?
When Jim woke up, nothing was right: "The sun was too bright, the sky was too blue, and bananas were too sweet." Norman the gorilla asks Jim why he’s so grumpy, and Jim insists he’s not. They meet Marabou, to whom Norman confides that Jim’s grumpy. When Jim denies it again, Marabou points out that Jim’s shoulders are hunched; Jim stands up. When they meet Lemur, Lemur points out Jim’s bunchy eyebrows; Jim unbunches them. When he trips over Snake, Snake points out Jim’s frown…so Jim puts on a grimacelike smile. Everyone has suggestions to brighten his mood: dancing, singing, swinging, swimming…but Jim doesn’t feel like any of that. He gets so fed up, he yells at his animal friends and stomps off…then he feels sad about yelling. He and Norman (who regrets dancing with that porcupine) finally just have a sit and decide it’s a wonderful day to be grumpy—which, of course, makes them both feel a little better. Suzanne Lang’s encouragement to sit with your emotions (thus allowing them to pass) is nearly Buddhist in its take, and it will be great bibliotherapy for the crabby, cranky, and cross. Oscar-nominated animator Max Lang’s cartoony illustrations lighten the mood without making light of Jim’s mood; Jim has comically long arms, and his facial expressions are quite funny.
Though Jim may have been grumpy because a chimp’s an ape and not a monkey, readers will enjoy and maybe learn from his journey. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-553-53786-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 18, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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