Stella’s Brave Voice may empower other kids to find theirs, too.
A young girl must learn to advocate for herself in Bader’s picture book.
Stella and her fraternal twin sister, Paige, have lots in common. They also have complementary differences: Stella likes cake but not frosting, for example, while Paige likes frosting but not cake. But Stella gets aggravated when Paige speaks for her without giving her time to answer, or interrupts, or speaks over her. Stella wants to speak up, but she doesn’t know how. That evening, their mother gives Stella great advice, reminding her how Paige started to speak up for Stella when they were younger and Stella’s anxiety was more severe. Her advice empowers Stella to speak up for herself, but also to remember that Paige loves her and doesn’t want her to feel scared. Their mother helps Stella use her stuffed animals to model a conversation with Paige. The next day at school, Stella has a productive conversation with her sibling. Bader’s story presents anxious young readers with a great model for learning how to assert themselves in conversation. Soto’s full-color cartoon illustrations are cute but might have been improved with more realistic shading, although the well-drawn backgrounds ably contextualize the settings. The speaking characters are all depicted with pale skin; the story has several background characters of color, including the twins’ teacher.
Stella’s Brave Voice may empower other kids to find theirs, too.Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9798985768138
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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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
Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees.
After Duncan finds his crayons gone—yet again—letters arrive, detailing their adventures in friendship.
Eleven crayons send missives from their chosen spots throughout Duncan’s home (and one from his classroom). Red enjoys the thrill of extinguishing “pretend fires” with Duncan’s toy firetruck. White, so often dismissed as invisible, finds a new calling subbing in for the missing queen on the black-and-white chessboard. “Now everyone ALWAYS SEES ME!…(Well, half the time!)” Pink’s living the dream as a pastry chef helming the Breezy Bake Oven, “baking everything from little cupcakes…to…OTHER little cupcakes!” Teal, who’s hitched a ride to school in Duncan’s backpack, meets the crayons in the boy’s desk and writes, “Guess what? I HAVE A TWIN! How come you never told me?” Duncan wants to see his crayons and “meet their new friends.” A culminating dinner party assembles the crayons and their many guests: a table tennis ball, dog biscuits, a well-loved teddy bear, and more. The premise—personified crayons, away and back again—is well-trammeled territory by now, after over a dozen books and spinoffs, and Jeffers once more delivers his signature cartooning and hand-lettering. Though the pages lack the laugh-out-loud sight gags and side-splittingly funny asides of previous outings, readers—especially fans of the crayons’ previous outings—will enjoy checking in on their pals.
Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9780593622360
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
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