A quiet, thoughtful tale that promotes mindfulness, intentionality, gratitude, and connection.
When Joy visits Grammy in South Carolina, she acquires much more than a bag of seeds.
From Grammy, Joy learns that some plants can be powerful medicines and that it’s important to pause before planting to remember the ancestors who worked the same soil before you. Grammy also insists that the Earth has a heartbeat just like humans, although “listening takes practice.” Grammy’s okra plants stand taller than she is—a testament to her gardening passion and persistence. She teaches Joy to hold the soil in her hands and breathe her intentions into it to plant her hopes along with the seeds. Joy delights in the variety of shapes, sizes, and colors of the seeds they plant, and when it’s time for her to go home, Grammy gives her a bag of seeds of her own. Joy feels doubtful that she can cultivate a garden as successfully as her grandmother, but Grammy has taught her well. This contemplative portrayal of a Black grandmother and granddaughter bonding over their mutual love of gardening and the outdoors is both rare and welcome. In Corrin’s expansive and colorful illustrations, the heavy use of the color green, including on Grammy’s gardening apron, emphasizes the characters’ love of nature and how nature embraces them, too. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A quiet, thoughtful tale that promotes mindfulness, intentionality, gratitude, and connection. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 20, 2023
ISBN: 9780593406786
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kokila
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A thoughtful role model for aspiring inventors.
In this collaboration from mother/daughter duo Corrigan and Corrigan Lichty, a youngster longs to quit the soccer team so she can continue dreaming up more inventions.
Marianne, a snazzily dressed young maker with tan skin, polka-dot glasses, and reddish-brown hair in two buns, feels out of place on the pitch. Her soccer-loving dad signed her up for the team, but she’d much rather be home tinkering and creating. One day she feigns illness to get out of practice (relying on a trick she learned from the film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) and uses her newfound time to create a flying machine made from bath towels, umbrellas, cans, and more. Eventually, her dad catches wind of her deception, and she tells him she prefers inventing to playing soccer. Immediately supportive, he plops a pot on his head and becomes Marianne’s tinkering apprentice. Told in lilting rhymes, the story resolves its conflicts rather speedily (Marianne confesses to hating soccer in one swift line). Though the text is wordy at times, it’s quite jaunty, and adults (and retro-loving kids) will chuckle at the ’80s references, from the Ferris Bueller and Dirty Dancing movie posters in Marianne’s room to the name of her dog, Patrick Swayze. True to Marianne’s creative nature, Sweetland surrounds her with lots of clutter and scraps, as well as plenty of bits and bobs. One never knows where inspiration will strike next.
A thoughtful role model for aspiring inventors. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9780593206096
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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