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CATCH A KISS

Name: CATCH A KISS
Author: Deborah Diesen
ISBN: 978-1-58536-961-4

by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Kris Aro McLeod ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2016

A sweet mother-daughter idyll that provides a mirror for any number of brown-skinned readers.

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Mama and Izzie play at blowing kisses in the garden.

Mama’s first kiss, a “tiny, round” one, alights on the tip of Izzie’s nose. Izzie catches the second, a “zigzag” one, in the crook of her elbow. But when Mama sends a triple-decker, Izzie’s able to catch only the first two, distressing the little girl. She jumps and flaps to no avail. Mama holds her daughter close to comfort her; she points “to a tiny sparkle high in the sky” that drifts down “in a shimmery glitter.” It’s just as Mama says: “Mama-kisses ALWAYS come find you.” As stories go, this is a slight but sweet one, a candy-floss variation on zillions of others. But McLeod’s delicate, fine-lined watercolors elevate it in depicting its loving mother-daughter pair with medium-brown skin, brown eyes, and ebullient brown curls (Izzie’s a little bit more unruly than her mama’s). Though nothing in the text points to specific ethnicity, in a sea of mother-love books featuring either white characters or cute, fuzzy animals, this twosome is a downright refreshing discovery. Broad-leaved plants and waving tendrils give their garden almost an underwater look; Izzie’s shift appears to be made of the same pink fabric as her mother’s blouse. McLeod never depicts the errant kiss, leaving both Izzie and readers to imagine it as they will.

A sweet mother-daughter idyll that provides a mirror for any number of brown-skinned readers. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: April 1, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-58536-961-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press

Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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THE WORRY-WORRY WHALE AND THE CLASSROOM JITTERS
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

- BOOK REVIEW
POUT-POUT FISH
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

- BOOK REVIEW
THE POUT-POUT FISH AND THE MAD, MAD DAY
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

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THERE'S A ROCK CONCERT IN MY BEDROOM

by Kevin Jonas & Danielle Jonas ; illustrated by Courtney Dawson ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2022

Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.

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Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.

Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: March 29, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin

Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

- BOOK REVIEW
THERE'S A BEACH IN MY BEDROOM
by Kevin Jonas & Danielle Jonas ; illustrated by Courtney Dawson

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YOUR BABY'S FIRST WORD WILL BE DADA

by Jimmy Fallon ; illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2015

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.

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A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.

A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)