A visually striking pedestal for an idolized music icon.
A boy with “the rhythm of the stars” longs to share the joy with everyone around him in this fictional imagining of rocker David Bowie’s childhood.
David, a lonely White boy with long legs and mismatched eyes, “shimmy-shake[s]” and “tip-tap[s]” to cosmic chatter that no one else can feel. The other kids at school call him strange, so David tries to fall in line and shuts his windows at night to silence the noise. When his radio comes to life in his too-quiet room, the sound floods his heart with inspiration and determination to share the commotion, color, and energy of the stars through music. Swirls of sparkling, galactic colors that twine around David make a lively visual representation of sound. This fantastical interpretation sheds a glowing, idyllic, and aspirational light on David Bowie’s life and career. While the story itself focuses on a child discovering self-expression, the aftermatter discusses Bowie’s rise to stardom without the lens of fantasy—but also without critique, describing him as an “otherworldly talent.” Even the physical altercation that damaged his eye receives a positive gloss. Mention of his loneliness and family struggles juxtaposed with the fictional narrative about a misunderstood child casts him as a sympathetic underdog. As a tribute to a glorified star, it’s sure to have high appeal. Illustrations depict background characters with light to dark brown skin.
A visually striking pedestal for an idolized music icon. (author’s note, additional facts, sources) (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-23943-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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