An insightful, encouraging book full of self-guided remedies.
A boy copes with boredom with parental guidance in this wise picture book about finding opportunity in quiet moments.
A young child laments that idle time is no fun: “Sometimes when I’m bored, everything bothers me.” But when the narrator talks to Momma, she promises that boredom just means something special is ahead. All the child has to do is find it by exploring natural curiosity, using imagination, building something new, or following a natural sense of wonder. Daddy suggests that feeling lonely is an opportunity to play pretend, draw a picture, or write to a loved one. The boy takes these suggestions to heart, and now, when he’s bored, the world is full of possibility. Serani, a psychologist and professor at Adelphi University, carefully balances the “Ugh!” feeling of childhood boredom with the open door of opportunity that unstructured time presents. Along with crafting the authentic child voice of the narrator and using straightforward text and simple sentence structure to help emergent readers, she also offers adults detailed notes on how to support children through their boredom. Teis’ realistic paintings center a Black family in images filled with familial love. Highlights of blue and purple represent the child’s imagination and sparking creativity.
An insightful, encouraging book full of self-guided remedies.Pub Date: July 19, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-63198-695-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
SEEN & HEARD
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