NOTHING IS SCARY WITH HARRY

Name: NOTHING IS SCARY WITH HARRY
Author: Katie McElligott
ISBN: 978-1-68052-386-7

by Katie McElligott illustrated by Jennifer A. Bell ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 15, 2019

Parents who encourage children to leave their treasures at home may find the heroine unhelpful, but for kids and adults who...

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A little girl convinces her parents of the importance of her blanket in this debut picture book.

A girl named Katie loves her blanket, Harry, because he makes things less frightening. With Harry, she can face down thunderstorms, doctor visits, stage performances, unfriendly older relatives, roller coasters, and public speaking. When strangers confront her about being too old to carry a blanket, Katie just informs them that no matter how big she is, she won’t give up Harry. When Mom says Harry is too worn out, Katie first cries, then gives a well-stated reason why he should stay. Mom admits that the world is a scary place, so if Harry helps, then Katie should get to keep him. Katie holds onto Harry right up until she wraps him around a child of her own. In this engaging story, Bell’s (The Adventures of Sophie Mouse, 2018, etc.) charming paint and colored-pencil illustrations showcase Katie’s love and bravery and feature diverse characters. McElligott switches from rhyming couplets to nonrhyming interjections, making for an uneven read-aloud experience, but uses an accessible vocabulary with only a few challenges (“swaddled”).

Parents who encourage children to leave their treasures at home may find the heroine unhelpful, but for kids and adults who embrace these objects as coping mechanisms, this sweet tale should ring true.

Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-68052-386-7

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Cottage Door Press

Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2018

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S VALENTINE

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 8, 2020

Little Blue Truck keeps on truckin’—but not without some backfires.

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Little Blue Truck feels, well, blue when he delivers valentine after valentine but receives nary a one.

His bed overflowing with cards, Blue sets out to deliver a yellow card with purple polka dots and a shiny purple heart to Hen, one with a shiny fuchsia heart to Pig, a big, shiny, red heart-shaped card to Horse, and so on. With each delivery there is an exchange of Beeps from Blue and the appropriate animal sounds from his friends, Blue’s Beeps always set in blue and the animal’s vocalization in a color that matches the card it receives. But as Blue heads home, his deliveries complete, his headlight eyes are sad and his front bumper droops ever so slightly. Blue is therefore surprised (but readers may not be) when he pulls into his garage to be greeted by all his friends with a shiny blue valentine just for him. In this, Blue’s seventh outing, it’s not just the sturdy protagonist that seems to be wilting. Schertle’s verse, usually reliable, stumbles more than once; stanzas such as “But Valentine’s Day / didn’t seem much fun / when he didn’t get cards / from anyone” will cause hitches during read-alouds. The illustrations, done by Joseph in the style of original series collaborator Jill McElmurry, are pleasant enough, but his compositions often feel stiff and forced.

Little Blue Truck keeps on truckin’—but not without some backfires. (Board book. 1-4)