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HOPSCOTCH

Name: HOPSCOTCH
Author: Marie-Louise Gay
ISBN: 9781773068435

by Marie-Louise Gay ; illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2023

Gentle encouragement to embrace life’s inevitable changes.

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Life moves forward, sometimes back.

Ophelia, narrating in first-person present tense, loves Jackson, a neighbor’s dog who, attached to a clothesline, runs back and forth each day. When he disappears, heartbroken Ophelia draws a “magic hopscotch” grid on the ground, hopping on it forward and backward and wishing for his return. Ophelia and family, who “move all the time,” leave because Dad needs to look for a new job. Outside their dilapidated new cabin, imaginative Ophelia spies giant rabbits and “crow-witches.” On the first day of school, Ophelia encounters an “ogre” (the crossing guard) and a brown-skinned “fairy princess” (the teacher) who speak French, which Ophelia doesn’t understand. Ever mindful Ophelia draws Jackson’s portrait and creates a hopscotch grid on which everyone plays. That night, while dreaming, Ophelia is able, at last, to bid Jackson “au revoir.” After another move, far from the scary creatures, Ophelia’s language skills blossom, and the child soars, confident that “I will learn to fly!” This poignant story is about taking tentative first steps toward independence. The hopscotch drawings are artful but vague metaphors for life’s shifting fortunes; they suggest one moves both forward and backward along life’s path. This lofty notion, also conveyed through Jackson’s movements and the family’s frequent address changes, may go over kids’ heads, though the cheery, stylized illustrations are lively, delicate, and airy. The protagonist has light skin; classmates are diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Gentle encouragement to embrace life’s inevitable changes. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2023

ISBN: 9781773068435

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Groundwood

Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
WALKING TREES
by Marie-Louise Gay ; illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay

- BOOK REVIEW
TRAVELS IN CUBA
by Marie-Louise Gay & David Homel ; illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay

- BOOK REVIEW
THE THREE BROTHERS
by Marie-Louise Gay ; illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay

- SEEN & HEARD
Library Flags Book Because of Author Name

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)