A sweet, quiet book to help kids learn that as fast as feelings come, they can also go.
When Mum wakes her children, she finds that little Huffalots have replaced them.
Mornings are hard. The kids don’t want to get up, but they don’t want to stay in bed. They don’t want to get dressed, but they don’t want to stay in their nightclothes either. And without a doubt, “they don’t like each other.” There is a way to handle Huffalots, though, and it starts with breakfast. Slowly, with a bit of help from each other, the two little Huffalots become Huffalittles and eventually Lovealots. They play delightedly together and give each other flowers and feathers and hugs. But most importantly, they give “lovely cuddles.” By the end of the day, Mum has exhausted herself and has become a bit of a Huffalot herself. Can the children use what they learned today to help Mum find her inner Lovealot? A soft, pastel palette and attention to detail bring to life the children’s world, as they are the center of the story. The kids’ faces reflect their changing feelings, going from squinty scowls to smiles to broad grins, helping young readers to identify emotions. Readers will notice the children managing their emotions and helping each other to have a good day—an empowering sight. The book’s British origins show in cadence and some vocabulary choices. Family members appear White. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10.25-by-19.5-inch double-page spreads viewed at 52% of actual size.)
A sweet, quiet book to help kids learn that as fast as feelings come, they can also go. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-72841-579-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Andersen Press USA
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Sweet.
A caregiving bear shares with its cub how love has defined their relationship from the first moment and through the years as the cub has grown.
With rhymes and a steady rhythm that are less singsong-y than similar books, Stansbie seems to have hit a sweet spot for this offering on the I-love-you-always shelf. Readers follow the adult and child as they share special moments together—a sunset, a splash in a pond, climbing a tree, a snuggle—and the adult tells the child that the love it feels has only grown. Stansbie also takes care not to put promises in the adult bear’s mouth that can’t be delivered, acknowledging that physical proximity is not always possible: “Wherever you are, / even when we’re apart… // I’ll love you forever / with all of my heart.” The large trim size helps the sweet illustrations shine; their emphasis is on the close relationship between parent and child. Shaped peekaboo windows offer glimpses of preceding and succeeding pages, images and text carefully placed to work whatever the context. While the die cuts on the interior pages will not hold up to rough handling, they do add whimsy and delight to the book as a whole: “And now that you’re bigger, / you make my heart sing. / My / beautiful / wonderful / magical / thing.” Those last three adjectives are positioned in leaf-shaped cutouts, the turn of the page revealing the roly-poly cub in a pile of leaves, three formed by the die-cuts. Opposite, three vignettes show the cub appreciating the “beautiful,” the “wonderful,” and the “magical.”
Sweet. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68412-910-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Silver Dolphin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
If Black Lives Matter, they deserve more specificity than this.
A lushly illustrated picture book with a troubling message.
Little Lala walks with her father after his successful day of fishing. When Mama calls her home for bed, a host of “good night”s delays her: to the bird, the monkey, and even the rock. As Lala wanders through her village in the darkening twilight, readers appreciate its expansive beauty and Lala’s simple joys. Although it’s been artfully written and richly illustrated by an award-winning author of many multicultural stories, this book has problems that overshadow its beauty. “African veld” sets the story in southern Africa, but its vague locale encourages Americans to think that distinctions among African countries don’t matter. Lala wears braids or locks that stick straight up, recalling the 19th-century pickaninny, and her inconsistent skin color ranges from deep ebony like her father’s to light brown. Shadows may cause some of these differences, but if it weren’t for her identifiable hair, readers might wonder if the same child wanders from page to page. Perhaps most striking of all is Lala’s bedtime story: not an African tale but an American classic. While this might evoke nostalgia in some readers, it also suggests that southern Africa has no comparably great bedtime books for Lala, perhaps in part because American children’s literature dominates the world market.
If Black Lives Matter, they deserve more specificity than this. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-17384-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
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