bookshelf

SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE AN OAK

Name: SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE AN OAK
Author: Danielle Daniel
ISBN: 9781773066981

From the Sometimes I Feel Like series , Vol. 3

by Danielle Daniel ; illustrated by Jackie Traverse ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 2, 2024

Tender and thought provoking.

bookshelf

Musings on emotions, through a Native lens.

“Sometimes I feel like a maple,” a young child notes, “full and most generous. / I share my flowing sap / as winter turns toward spring.” Alongside acrylic and gouache images from Traverse (Ojibway), the narrative’s gentle formula continues: Children identify their moods and characteristics and compare themselves to different trees, including a redwood, a cedar, and an aspen. On the full-bleed spreads, youngsters who vary in skin tone play, read, and quietly gaze at the trees, expressing a wide range of emotions both positive and negative. “Sometimes I feel like a willow, / shivery, sensitive and sad.” But “sometimes I feel like a tamarack, / resilient, striking, robust.” Backmatter lists the name of each tree, alongside a portrait and an associated emotion; readers are asked to reflect on what they “see and feel in the trees around” them. In an author’s note, Daniel connects her Algonquin ancestry to her understanding of trees as “sentient beings with spirits who can feel things.” Both the people and the land come to life in Traverse’s vibrant illustrations, which convey the majesty and evocative nature of trees. This simple story will invite children to relate to trees as teachers and healers, ones whom we might greet “as we would a person—worthy of kindness, respect, protection and love.”

Tender and thought provoking. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: April 2, 2024

ISBN: 9781773066981

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Groundwood

Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024

Categories:

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

- BOOK REVIEW
REASONS TO LOOK AT THE NIGHT SKY
by Danielle Daniel

- BOOK REVIEW
I'M AFRAID, SAID THE LEAF
by Danielle Daniel ; illustrated by Matt James

- BOOK REVIEW
YOU HOLD ME UP
by Monique Gray Smith ; illustrated by Danielle Daniel

bookshelf

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...

bookshelf

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

bookshelf

IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

bookshelf

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)