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SNAP!

Name: SNAP!
Author: Hazel Hutchins
ISBN: 978-1-55451-770-1

by Hazel Hutchins ; illustrated by Dušan Petričić ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 6, 2015

A beautifully humorous ode to both pragmatism and imagination.

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Evan learns a lot about life in general and colors in particular as his new set of crayons ages.

“Evan had a brand new set of crayons, perfect in every way until…SNAP!” The tousle-headed, large-eyed Evan is Everychild as he grapples with the first time a crayon breaks—a trauma well-known by young artists. A humorous, four-vignette sequence follows on the next double-page spread, as Evan tries in vain to mend the unmendable brown crayon, by ordering, pressing, and taping it, respectively. His first of many aha moments comes when he realizes that “one broken crayon became two crayons,” and he proceeds to create such tandem items as railroad tracks and tiger stripes. The artwork, a lively mixture of colored pencil and, of course, crayons, perfectly complements the childlike-but-highly-legible printing on each page. As crayons disappear or break or wear down, Evan eventually learns—by his own experimentation—such things as the usefulness of primary colors and how to create rubbings from textures underneath paper. There is even a gentle hint about appropriate ways of venting frustration: “Evan felt like throwing things. But instead, he scribbled.” The thoughtful ending is a child-friendly way to introduce the philosophy that what we call art may well be a mixture of science and imagination—with a little magic thrown into the mix.

A beautifully humorous ode to both pragmatism and imagination. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-55451-770-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Annick Press

Review Posted Online: July 14, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
THE TRUTH ABOUT WIND
by Hazel Hutchins & Gail Herbert ; illustrated by Dušan Petričić

- BOOK REVIEW
ANNA AT THE ART MUSEUM
by Hazel Hutchins & Gail Herbert ; illustrated by Lil Crump

- BOOK REVIEW
WHAT THE SNAKES WROTE
by Hazel Hutchins ; illustrated by Tina Holdcroft

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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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A BIKE LIKE SERGIO'S

by Maribeth Boelts ; illustrated by Noah Z. Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 4, 2016

Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on...

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Continuing from their acclaimed Those Shoes (2007), Boelts and Jones entwine conversations on money, motives, and morality.

This second collaboration between author and illustrator is set within an urban multicultural streetscape, where brown-skinned protagonist Ruben wishes for a bike like his friend Sergio’s. He wishes, but Ruben knows too well the pressure his family feels to prioritize the essentials. While Sergio buys a pack of football cards from Sonny’s Grocery, Ruben must buy the bread his mom wants. A familiar lady drops what Ruben believes to be a $1 bill, but picking it up, to his shock, he discovers $100! Is this Ruben’s chance to get himself the bike of his dreams? In a fateful twist, Ruben loses track of the C-note and is sent into a panic. After finally finding it nestled deep in a backpack pocket, he comes to a sense of moral clarity: “I remember how it was for me when that money that was hers—then mine—was gone.” When he returns the bill to her, the lady offers Ruben her blessing, leaving him with double-dipped emotions, “happy and mixed up, full and empty.” Readers will be pleased that there’s no reward for Ruben’s choice of integrity beyond the priceless love and warmth of a family’s care and pride.

Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on children. (Picture book. 5-8)