bookshelf

I’M FROM

Name: I’M FROM
Author: Gary R. Gray Jr.
ISBN: 9780063089969

by Gary R. Gray Jr. ; illustrated by Oge Mora ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 19, 2023

An origin story for the ages—intimate, poetic, singular, and broadly relatable.

bookshelf

For some, “Where are you from?” has a geographical answer, but this kid offers a thoughtful and poignant alternative perspective.

As the Black narrator begins the day, waking in a toy- and book-filled room and rising from a bed covered by a tapestry that showcases the layered textured papers and gouache paints of Mora’s illustrations, he recalls where—and what and who—he comes from. It’s an ostensibly average day—enjoying a favorite breakfast of pan-fried bologna and pancakes with the fam, admiring the assortment of hairstyles on the school bus, from his own fade to the “laid edges” of a peer, hearing raucous kids earning a stern word from the bus driver, and making it through a long school day of learning. But the boy also encounters racialized comments—scribbled in frenetic large type across a full-page spread—from the other kids that make him visibly uncomfortable: “Can I touch your hair?” “You don’t sound Black.” “Where are you from?” But the answers he ultimately offers readers are as tasty as “buttermilk biscuits” or as touching as “bear-tight cuddles,” as soft as pecks on the cheek or as far-reaching as the hopes and dreams of his family. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An origin story for the ages—intimate, poetic, singular, and broadly relatable. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023

ISBN: 9780063089969

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S POETRY

bookshelf

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...

bookshelf

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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

bookshelf

IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

bookshelf

A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)