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AVA AND THE RAINBOW (WHO STAYED)

Name: AVA AND THE RAINBOW (WHO STAYED)
Author: Ged Adamson
ISBN: 978-0-06-267080-9

by Ged Adamson ; illustrated by Ged Adamson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 2, 2018

A sweet cautionary tale about a world that requires constant novelty that’s just a little evanescent itself.

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Rainbows delight with vivid colors, magical evanescence, and unpredictable appearances.

When Ava sees a smiley-faced rainbow, she makes a wish: “If only you could stay forever.” In her drab, gray room, she dreams that the rainbow remains and awakens to a colorful, transformed town. Tourists invade, the rainbow’s image goes viral, and scholars lecture about rainbows. Despite great hardship during a cold winter, the colorful arc stays in place; but as time goes on, the townspeople ignore the rainbow’s beauty. They even make it an eyesore, a handy surface for posters, neon signs, and antennae. When people arrive to view a Russian water sparrow that’s just stopping over, Ava and the rainbow learn that it may be best for the rainbow to once again become “a rare and precious sight.” A castle at the rainbow’s end on the last double-page spread is the only hint that the book is set in England (Adamson’s home). Ava is white, but there are a few brown-skinned people among the mostly white townspeople and the visitors. Cartoonish, loosely drawn renderings of the people and the buildings contrast with the smoothly fluid rainbow, green fields, and sky in the pencil, watercolor, and Photoshop digital illustrations. Adamson pays homage to Maurice Sendak in a final image of Ava dressed as “Really Rosie” singing to her rainbow friend.

A sweet cautionary tale about a world that requires constant novelty that’s just a little evanescent itself. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-06-267080-9

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BEAR, THE BOOK, AND THE BLANKET
by Lou Peacock ; illustrated by Ged Adamson

- BOOK REVIEW
BRIANOSAURUS
by Ged Adamson ; illustrated by Ged Adamson

- BOOK REVIEW
THIS IS NOT A UNICORN!
by Barry Timms ; illustrated by Ged Adamson

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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)

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

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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.

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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)