Lala’s enthusiasm blossoms on the page.
A small girl, full of energy and color, brings her love of nature to a dull gray city.
In the heat of the heavy, hot summer, everyone in a black-and-gray–hued city is still…except for Lala, in an effervescent yellow dress, who’s jumping, running, and tripping across the page. Her exasperated mother does not understand this whirlwind of energy, frowning at a floor covered in clutter or exclaiming about dirt tracked on the floor. Blithe Lala, however, loves nothing more than to visit an empty lot around the corner, where she tends to the weeds and scraggly plants—rendered in vibrant greens with yellow highlights—whom she considers friends. But on the hottest day of summer, when her mother finally forbids her to step foot outside, “Lala cried and cried. Who would visit her little friends?” She sends her love out to the plants in whispers all day, and the next morning, the neighborhood wakes to a miraculous sight. A giant green plant now covers the entire neighborhood with its shade! More importantly, Lala’s neighborhood now also glows the same bright yellow as Lala’s dress, and her mother recognizes her inner light. Zhang’s message extolling the benefits of tending to nature is a bit too on the nose, but her use of only two colors—yellow and green—against a gray city to convey the exuberance of Lala’s love and the rejuvenating force of nature is lovely. Lala and her mother both have straight, black hair and skin the white of the page.
Lala’s enthusiasm blossoms on the page. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: July 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-64823-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2021
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
An affirming, though lackluster, look at a loving queer family.
For his debut picture book, teacher and activist Chasten Buttigieg draws inspiration from life with husband Pete Buttigieg, former U.S. transportation secretary.
The big day has finally arrived! Rosie and Jojo have been counting down the days until Papa comes home from his work trip. With a little help from Daddy, they make “welcome home” signs to greet Papa at the airport, pick flowers from the garden, and bake a “seven-layer chocolate cake with purple and yellow frosting.” Much to Daddy’s bemusement, the kids gather all of Papa’s favorite things, including his robe and slippers and their adorable pooch, Butter, as they walk out the door to pick up Papa from his travels. The author offers an affectionate portrait of the everyday domestic life of a same-sex family unit. While many kids and adults will be pleased to see their experiences reflected on the page, both the choppy writing and the flat digital artwork are fairly bland. Characters display similarly excited facial expressions throughout, while the portrayal of the children borders on overly cutesy at times, with intentionally misspelled signs throughout the house (“Papa’s Very Spechull Garden. Please do not tutch”). Like the author’s actual children, Rosie and Jojo are brown-skinned, while Daddy and Papa present white.
An affirming, though lackluster, look at a loving queer family. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 20, 2025
ISBN: 9780593693988
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
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