A natural shower gift for parents-to-be or an excellent way to introduce the topic of where a young reader’s story began.
Everyone loves a good beginning.
Graff delivers a heartwarming tale about a baby’s introduction into the world, one guaranteed to be read and reread by children who wonder where their own tales began. She employs a simple yet effective rhyme scheme—each rhyming couplet ends with “you”—that soothes like a cherished lullaby as the narrator describes the wait for the birth of a baby. Graff, known for her enchanting middle-grade novels (Far Away, 2019, etc.), deftly relays the worry, delight, anticipation, and joy of impending parenthood. With each spread she employs the now-popular comparison of fruit to developing baby as eager expectant parents address the child to come: “When you were an eggplant, we called in our crew. / We painted and prepped and we waited for you,” reads one representative spread. German artist Kaulitzki shares an inclusive cast of characters, depicting a multitude of family types to satisfy many of the ways modern people create a family, including evidently same-sex couples and several sets of interracial parents. While there are plenty of pregnant bellies in evidence, some scenes are open to interpretation of adoptive families. Her color palette is soft, rich, and warm, and her compositions are the artistic equivalent of a hug, blending fluid lines and whimsical colors as well as patterns to appeal to a diverse audience. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-16-inch double-page spreads reviewed at 150% of actual size.)
A natural shower gift for parents-to-be or an excellent way to introduce the topic of where a young reader’s story began. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-984837-38-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2020
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
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BOOK REVIEW
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