Feline siblings Harry and Emily help their mother celebrate her special day in this sixth entry in the Harry and Emily Adventure series by Ruelle (Easy as Apple Pie, 2002, etc.). The mid-level easy reader text is divided into four chapters, with Ruelle’s naive drawings in a variety of formats adding their own understated charm. The kittens talk over Mother’s Day with both their mom and their dad, discuss what presents they could create, and decide on home-grown flowers and a home-cooked breakfast in bed as their gifts. They plant flower seeds for their mom, and when the big day arrives, they make lumpy marshmallow-and-peanut-butter pancakes to serve alongside their budding marigolds and a homemade card. Little sister Emily leaps on the bed, spilling everything, but her mom reassures her that, just as her own mother always said, a mother’s best Mother’s Day gifts are her own children. This sentimental though heart-felt conclusion is likely to appeal more to adults than children, but the earnest endeavors of the charming kittens are still engaging. The story also subtly reinforces some curriculum objectives through the details of several processes: planning for a family holiday, growing seeds, time sequences, gathering ingredients for a recipe, and cooking. Harry and Emily have quite a few more holidays to explore, and this publisher in particular seems likely to extend the franchise. (Easy reader. 5-8)
Pub Date: March 15, 2003
ISBN: 0-8234-1773-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2003
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
This multigenerational snuggle will encourage the sharing of old memories and the creation of new ones.
Hill and Bobbiesi send a humungous hug from grandmothers to their granddaughters everywhere.
Delicate cartoon art adds details to the rhyming text showing multigenerational commonalities. “You and I are alike in such wonderful ways. / You will see more and more as you grow” (as grandmother and granddaughter enjoy the backyard together); “I wobbled uncertainly just as you did / whenever I tried something new” (as a toddler takes first steps); “And if a bad dream woke me up in the night, / I snuggled up with my lovey too” (grandmother kisses granddaughter, who clutches a plush narwhal). Grandmother-granddaughter pairs share everyday joys like eating ice cream, dancing “in the rain,” and making “up silly games.” Although some activities skew stereotypically feminine (baking, yoga), a grandmother helps with a quintessential volcano experiment (this pair presents black, adding valuable STEM representation), another cheers on a young wheelchair athlete (both present Asian), and a third, wearing a hijab, accompanies her brown-skinned granddaughter on a peace march, as it is “important to speak out for what you believe.” The message of unconditional love is clear throughout: “When you need me, I’ll be there to listen and care. / There is nothing that keeps us apart.” The finished book will include “stationery…for a special letter from Grandma to you!”
This multigenerational snuggle will encourage the sharing of old memories and the creation of new ones. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-0623-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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