Sweet but standard fare akin to daytime cartoons.
An ambitious lion cub perseveres in disappointment’s wake.
As Leo and Mama stroll the savanna in animation mastermind Esnaashari’s authorial debut, they notice some antelope springing about the riverbanks. Emboldened, Leo declares his intention to scale a nearby rock in a single bound. He squares up, counts down, takes off, and…gets tangled in a shrub. The braggadocious cub blames his bumble on a baleful breeze. His beaming mother notes there wasn’t any wind and suggests he try again. Leo backs up, takes a running start, pushes hard, and…flops face-first in the dirt. Wounded in pride if not body, he attributes this mishap to his considerate nature: Apparently, he stumbled in order to spare a bug underfoot. Doubtful, Mama offers a sympathetic smile. Leo again sets his feet, bounds for glory, grasps the peak, and…slips straight into the mud. Poor Leo! While the lioness tidies her crestfallen cub, they observe a lush ecosystem full of animals jumping and soaring with the greatest of ease. Mama urges Leo to try one last time, and initial reluctance turns to newfound resolve. He runs, jumps, and…summits the stone at last. Mother and son close the book making magnificent tandem leaps. With expressive faces embellished with tattoolike patterns, this lionhearted duo exercise resilience in the face of personal shortcomings and strict realism—but fall squarely into the Disneyfication trap. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 57% of actual size.)
Sweet but standard fare akin to daytime cartoons. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-4610-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.
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
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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