A gentle tale that is as sweet and delicious as maple syrup.
Time crawls for Ethan as he anxiously awaits the beginning of sugaring season.
Sunday should mean maple syrup on any breakfast his dad cooks. But the maple syrup is used up, and sugaring time won’t happen until the days lengthen. Is the sunny day just a little warmer? Is that a sliver of daylight at bedtime? Or is it only wishful thinking? Dad also says his new loose tooth will fall out when the sap runs. The days creep by, and it’s still cold and dark, and his tooth is still there. Then, finally, the tooth is out, and his father is waiting after school to begin the sugaring process. They work together as a team during the whole process of lifting, carrying, boiling, and pouring to make the longed-for syrup. That first slightly lighter Sunday morning and a breakfast of pancakes with maple syrup are blissful. Young readers will relate to Ethan’s impatience with the slow march from winter to spring, as they hope and wait along with him, even if they are used to the faster pace of city or suburbia. Karas’ illustrations beautifully depict both the wintry farm in day and night and the loving, trusting father-and-son team as they share everyday moments and work together contentedly. Ethan and Dad present white.
A gentle tale that is as sweet and delicious as maple syrup. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-544-78581-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2019
A sweet notion that falls flat.
A hit song reimagined as a book about parental love.
Featured in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 1, Perri’s “A Thousand Years” deals with the speaker’s fear of romantic love. In picture-book form, it explores a parent’s unwavering love for a child, who grows from an infant into a toddler over the course of the narrative. The caregiver expresses awe when the youngster learns to stand and fear that the child might fall while beginning to walk. “I have spent every day waiting for you,” the parent says. “Darling, don’t be afraid.” What the child might fear isn’t clear from the joyful balloon- and rainbow-filled illustrations. The story borders on cloying, and words that might work when sung and accompanied by music don’t sound fresh on the page: “Time goes by. / You grow ever stronger as you fly.” The refrain, however, is a lovely sentiment: “I have loved you for a thousand years. / I’ll love you for a thousand more.” Perri’s legion of fans may flock to this version, illustrated by Ruiz with sparkling stars, bubbles, and big-eyed toddlers, but it doesn’t hold together as a narrative or an ode, as it’s billed, and it’s a long way from the original song. The child is tan-skinned, the parent is lighter-skinned, and other characters are diverse.
A sweet notion that falls flat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9780593622599
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
