Touching, memorable, exquisite.
A celebration of childhood and friendship, replete with imagination, ambition, and even a bit of mischief.
Vivid, bright watercolors in warm and soft tones and the innate sense of play conveyed in each double-page image beautifully depict the shared experience of two inseparable playmates. The book opens at the home of one toddler, a white child, on the morning of a bright, sunny day; the minimal text exhorts, “Wake up, let’s play! What shall we play today?” Nine gorgeously rendered, highly detailed scenes of play follow, bookended with a final bedtime picture of the home of this child’s young friend; this character, who presents black, looks out the window as the text reads: “Night, night, sleep tight. What shall we play tomorrow?” Intervening scenes take place indoors, outdoors, and across seasons, so the book simultaneously conveys the sense of a full day of play and the passage of time as well. A single, brief description accompanies each scene; the image conveys most of the content: “Let’s play birthday parties,” “…castles,” “…snowmen,” etc. Toddler imagination is on full display, for better and for worse. “Let’s play stormy seas” shows them fully clothed in an overflowing bathtub, spraying water everywhere. The black child, playing “chef,” strews paper cupcake liners all over the kitchen; the white child scrawls a crayon masterpiece on a wall while playing “artist.”
Touching, memorable, exquisite. (Board book. 2-5)Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-78250-626-3
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Floris
Review Posted Online: May 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance.
A boy with wings learns to be himself and inspires others like him to soar, too.
Norman, a “perfectly normal” boy, never dreamed he might grow wings. Afraid of what his parents might say, he hides his new wings under a big, stuffy coat. Although the coat hides his wings from the world, Norman no longer finds joy in bathtime, playing at the park, swimming, or birthday parties. With the gentle encouragement of his parents, who see his sadness, Norman finds the courage to come out of hiding and soar. Percival (The Magic Looking Glass, 2017, etc.) depicts Norman with light skin and dark hair. Black-and-white illustrations show his father with dark skin and hair and his mother as white. The contrast of black-and-white illustrations with splashes of bright color complements the story’s theme. While Norman tries to be “normal,” the world and people around him look black and gray, but his coat stands out in yellow. Birds pop from the page in pink, green, and blue, emphasizing the joy and beauty of flying free. The final spread, full of bright color and multiracial children in flight, sets the mood for Norman’s realization on the last page that there is “no such thing as perfectly normal,” but he can be “perfectly Norman.”
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-785-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
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