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A SONG FOR MY SISTER

Name: A SONG FOR MY SISTER
Author: Lesley Simpson
ISBN: 978-1-58246-427-5

by Lesley Simpson & illustrated by Tatjana Mai-Wyss ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 26, 2012

A neat melding of religious traditions into the familiar new-sibling story.

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There is no specific Jewish ritual for naming a daughter, so many families invent their own. Simpson has invented an entire book to go with it.

Wishes come true here, but not right on time. Mira wishes for a sister, and a baby is born four years later. Sound effects are important in this book. When Mira tosses coins into a wishing well, they go “Swish clink clank.” The baby makes one noise, “Waaaaaaa!”—there are always seven as in a row. She cries when her parents try to feed her and when Mira bounces her or shows off her best cartwheel. The word “Waaaaaaa!” appears in bright red letters, and readers might get tired of seeing it on page after page, but then, that’s the point. By the day of the naming ceremony, even the rabbi looks a little worn out. (Progressive readers will be happy to see that she’s a female rabbi.) Mira, of course, saves the day, if not right on time. The book ends with the sounds of Jewish music, Mira singing “Dim-dim-dee-dee-dim” and her sister singing “Goo-goo-ga-ga-ga.” Even young readers may see the plot twists coming, but the details are funny (Mira wants to name the baby Siren), the ending is genuinely moving, and some families may want to borrow the naming ritual for themselves.

A neat melding of religious traditions into the familiar new-sibling story. (Picture book. 3-8)

Pub Date: June 26, 2012

ISBN: 978-1-58246-427-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: April 3, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2012

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S RELIGIOUS FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
YUVI'S CANDY TREE
by Lesley Simpson & illustrated by Janice Lee Porter

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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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HOW TO CATCH A MONSTER

From the How To Catch… series

by Adam Wallace ; illustrated by Andy Elkerton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2017

Only for dedicated fans of the series.

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When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.

“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.

Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)