A powerful message about the support of friends and defusing a bully wrapped in a sweet Valentine tale.
While Dewey Dew is adjusting well to life on Earth, he still has trouble with a few things, mostly the pronunciation of the word “love” and the bully at school.
The first one can be a problem, especially in the month of February, when “wuhbuh” is on everyone’s mind. His mother tries to help him, but Dewey’s frustration rises to tantrum levels. Her soothing reassurance, “Shee shoo-shoo tanna-wattoo,” sounds “like honey and birds’ wings and safety and singing,” and it’s easy for Dewey Dew to say. But that doesn’t help when faced with Brutus Auralias’ taunting “Wubbah Boy.” “Dewey’s urdle tightened. His eyeball squeezed. Blue-black smoke rose dangerously from his hork.” Just in time his loyal friends save the day, twice in fact. But the teasing leaves Dewey Dew fantasizing about leaving Earth behind…until he devises a solution that encapsulates the sentiment behind Valentine’s Day: he teaches his class to say “I love you” in his language. And they have just as much trouble with it as he has with the word “love.” His effort brings the whole class together, even Brutus. Mack’s pencil, watercolor, and digital illustrations work in tandem with Staub’s marvelously inventive language to ensure readers understand Dewey’s Eighty-N words. And the characters’ facial expressions and posture speak volumes all on their own.
A powerful message about the support of friends and defusing a bully wrapped in a sweet Valentine tale. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62979-497-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.
All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.
Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
A solid if message-driven conversation starter about the hard parts of learning.
Children realize their dreams one step at a time in this story about growth mindset.
A child crashes and damages a new bicycle on a dark, rainy day. Attempting a wheelie, the novice cyclist falls onto the sidewalk, grimacing, and, having internalized this setback as failure, vows to never ride again but to “walk…forever.” Then the unnamed protagonist happens upon a glowing orb in the forest, a “thought rearranger-er”—a luminous pink fairy called the Magical Yet. This Yet reminds the child of past accomplishments and encourages perseverance. The second-person rhyming couplets remind readers that mistakes are part of learning and that with patience and effort, children can achieve. Readers see the protagonist learn to ride the bike before a flash-forward shows the child as a capable college graduate confidently designing a sleek new bike. This book shines with diversity: racial, ethnic, ability, and gender. The gender-indeterminate protagonist has light brown skin and exuberant curly locks; Amid the bustling secondary cast, one child uses a prosthesis, and another wears hijab. At no point in the text is the Yet defined as a metaphor for a growth mindset; adults reading with younger children will likely need to clarify this abstract lesson. The artwork is powerful and detailed—pay special attention to the endpapers that progress to show the Yet at work.
A solid if message-driven conversation starter about the hard parts of learning. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-368-02562-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion/LBYR
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
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