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ANNA ALL YEAR ROUND

Nothing very special happens in Hahn’s beguiling slice-of-life novel, set in Baltimore at a time when gaslight illuminated the streets and commuters traveled by trolley. Eight-year-old Anna outgrows her old coat, dares to go down a steep hill on roller-skates, tricks her mother into giving her a birthday party, and plays tag with her friends. What makes the book stand up and shout are not the ordinary events Hahn delineates, but her powerful depiction of the childhood emotions that accompany the inevitable process of growing up. Anna is a great girl, earnest and well-meaning, full of grit, determination, and heart. The book, which is episodic, is divided into four sections—one for every season—and every chapter chronicles a brief incident in vivid, simple prose, ably highlighted by deGroat’s straightforward black-and-white illustrations of the era. Life was different in 1913, but the core issues that children face—whether to cheat to save face, or to accept a dare that’s too hard—are timeless, and young readers should find Anna’s experiences meaningful.  (Fiction. 6-8)

Pub Date: April 19, 1999

ISBN: 0-395-86975-7

Page Count: 133

Publisher: Clarion Books

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1999

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KEVIN AND HIS DAD

There is something profoundly elemental going on in Smalls’s book: the capturing of a moment of unmediated joy. It’s not melodramatic, but just a Saturday in which an African-American father and son immerse themselves in each other’s company when the woman of the house is away. Putting first things first, they tidy up the house, with an unheralded sense of purpose motivating their actions: “Then we clean, clean, clean the windows,/wipe, wipe, wash them right./My dad shines in the windows’ light.” When their work is done, they head for the park for some batting practice, then to the movies where the boy gets to choose between films. After a snack, they work their way homeward, racing each other, doing a dance step or two, then “Dad takes my hand and slows down./I understand, and we slow down./It’s a long, long walk./We have a quiet talk and smile.” Smalls treats the material without pretense, leaving it guileless and thus accessible to readers. Hays’s artwork is wistful and idyllic, just as this day is for one small boy. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: April 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-316-79899-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999

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WAITING FOR BABY

One of a four-book series designed to help the very young prepare for new siblings, this title presents a toddler-and-mother pair (the latter heavily pregnant) as they read about new babies, sort hand-me-downs, buy new toys, visit the obstetrician and the sonographer, speculate and wait. Throughout, the child asks questions and makes exclamations with complete enthusiasm: “How big is the baby? What does it eat? I felt it move! Is it a boy or girl?” Fuller’s jolly pictures present a biracial family that thoroughly enjoys every moment together. It’s a bit oversimplified, but no one can complain about the positive message it conveys, appropriately, to its baby and toddler audience. The other titles in the New Baby series are My New Baby (ISBN: 978-1-84643-276-7), Look at Me! (ISBN: 978-1-84643-278-1) and You and Me (ISBN: 978-1-84643-277-4). (Board book. 18 mos.-3)

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2010

ISBN: 978-1-84643-275-0

Page Count: 12

Publisher: Child's Play

Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2010

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