Not a necessary addition to holiday shelves.
A holiday celebrating a new year should include some new foods, shouldn’t it?
Becca, 5 years old, has straight red hair, pink cheeks, and a determined way of saying “NO!” Her parents are getting ready for the Jewish new year and want Becca to try something new to eat. Papa will have a new look, now sans moustache. Mama will have a new hobby, knitting. Becca should try new foods, perhaps some greens or brisket or chicken soup. Her response is steadfastly negative until, “the biggest green bean ever seen” appears in solitary splendor on her plate. Becca is happy at last, though why this makes a difference when nothing else has goes unexplained. The text centers on Ashkenazic food traditions along with the custom of having or doing something new for the new year. There is no mention, until the brief author’s note, of any religious observances or significance. Families who celebrate the holiday will find little of substance to share. Others will likely come away with no relevant understanding. The cartoon illustrations are colorful and depict an array of traditional foods including apples, but no jar of honey is visible. There is also a marmalade cat who mimics Becca’s facial expressions. The text is in rhythmic quatrains with a second line of repeats that are sometimes awkward to read aloud. “Becca doesn’t eat things green, / never green, ever green. / Not a lettuce leaf or bean. / Especially if they’re new.”
Not a necessary addition to holiday shelves. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-72840-339-7
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance.
A boy with wings learns to be himself and inspires others like him to soar, too.
Norman, a “perfectly normal” boy, never dreamed he might grow wings. Afraid of what his parents might say, he hides his new wings under a big, stuffy coat. Although the coat hides his wings from the world, Norman no longer finds joy in bathtime, playing at the park, swimming, or birthday parties. With the gentle encouragement of his parents, who see his sadness, Norman finds the courage to come out of hiding and soar. Percival (The Magic Looking Glass, 2017, etc.) depicts Norman with light skin and dark hair. Black-and-white illustrations show his father with dark skin and hair and his mother as white. The contrast of black-and-white illustrations with splashes of bright color complements the story’s theme. While Norman tries to be “normal,” the world and people around him look black and gray, but his coat stands out in yellow. Birds pop from the page in pink, green, and blue, emphasizing the joy and beauty of flying free. The final spread, full of bright color and multiracial children in flight, sets the mood for Norman’s realization on the last page that there is “no such thing as perfectly normal,” but he can be “perfectly Norman.”
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-785-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
Let these crayons go back into their box.
The Crayons return to celebrate Easter.
Six crayons (Red, Orange, Yellow, Esteban, who is green and wears a yellow cape, White, and Blue) each take a shape and scribble designs on it. Purple, perplexed and almost angry, keeps asking why no one is creating an egg, but the six friends have a great idea. They take the circle decorated with red shapes, the square adorned with orange squiggles “the color of the sun,” the triangle with yellow designs, also “the color of the sun” (a bit repetitious), a rectangle with green wavy lines, a white star, about which Purple remarks: “DID you even color it?” and a rhombus covered with blue markings and slap the shapes onto a big, light-brown egg. Then the conversation turns to hiding the large object in plain sight. The joke doesn’t really work, the shapes are not clear enough for a concept book, and though colors are delineated, it’s not a very original color book. There’s a bit of clever repartee. When Purple observe that Esteban’s green rectangle isn’t an egg, Esteban responds, “No, but MY GOSH LOOK how magnificent it is!” Still, that won’t save this lackluster book, which barely scratches the surface of Easter, whether secular or religious. The multimedia illustrations, done in the same style as the other series entries, are always fun, but perhaps it’s time to retire these anthropomorphic coloring implements. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Let these crayons go back into their box. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-62105-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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