I'M NOT A MOUSE

Name: I'M NOT A MOUSE
Author: Evgenia Golubeva
ISBN: 978-1-78628-464-8

by Evgenia Golubeva ; illustrated by Evgenia Golubeva ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 15, 2020

This entertaining, ebulliently illustrated story will make grown-ups pause before nicknaming somebody without their approval.

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For all those kids who are tired of the nicknames their families give them.

A young, black, bespectacled child with hair in two big curly puffballs tells readers, “I love my mom”—but not Mom’s nickname for the child: Mouse. Whenever Mom uses that nickname, the kid transforms. Suddenly, this backpack-wearing child becomes a purple mouse, wearing miniature glasses and clothes but lugging a yellow backpack that hasn’t shrunk. The protagonist then recalls all of the instances when Mom has interrupted play and activities by inconveniently changing her offspring into this purple rodent—which sometimes puts the child in treacherous, life-threatening situations, such as when Mom causes a transformation in front of the family’s orange cat. Frustrated, the child finally screams, “I’m not a MOUSE,” and then ignores Mom until she uses the child’s given name: Olivia. The rebellion works, but Olivia soon realizes that plenty of other kids—even grown kids—deal with the same problem. Golubeva’s bold, colorful illustrations effectively capture both Olivia’s conundrum and the child’s frustration with Mom’s annoying habit. A double-page spread in a city park reveals diverse children and nickname-granting caregivers, the kids all amusingly transformed. Frontmatter pages feature Mouse in many different situations, and corresponding backmatter pages add further humor by showing all the other things nicknames have transformed kids into, some non-English languages adding further diversity.

This entertaining, ebulliently illustrated story will make grown-ups pause before nicknaming somebody without their approval. (Picture book. 4-8 )

Pub Date: June 15, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-78628-464-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Child's Play

Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
THE ENCHANTED FOREST
by Samantha Chagollan ; illustrated by Evgenia Golubeva

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WHY A DAUGHTER NEEDS A MOM

by Gregory R. Lange ; illustrated by Sydney Hanson ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2019

New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.

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All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.

Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.

New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)

Pub Date: May 1, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

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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...

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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)