A charming reminder to stop and smell the roses with a child.
In perfect pairings, Tanco’s spare illustrations combine with brief text to show all the joys and wonders children introduce to their parents’ lives.
“I take you to places you’ve never seen…” shows the duo in their almost-empty living room, each in a separate cardboard box with a broom oar, colanders perched atop their heads, lost to imaginative play. With the turn of the page, “and get wet with you in the rain” pictures the two as the only bright spots of color amid a street lined with barely seen faces underneath stark black umbrellas. The father is gently smiling as he folds his umbrella, the yellow-slicker–clad child joyously dancing in a puddle. Especially appealing is the lesson on how to slow down: the two sit on the grass in a park watching a line of ants. The illustration choices have a definitely quirky European aesthetic, the scenes incorporating some Old World charm around the skinny, superelongated figures. Done in what appears to be pen and ink, pops of orange and yellow enliven the scenes and focus readers’ attention. The child is blond, the father dark-haired; both are paper-white. While readers may see a male pair, the pictures are fairly open, and these lessons could apply to any adult-child combination.
A charming reminder to stop and smell the roses with a child. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4521-4486-3
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
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
A delightfully silly celebration of familial love.
A child in search of the best hugger takes a bedtime tour of the world’s most unusual embraces.
In the opening pages of this rhyming picture book, an unnamed narrator asks a curly-haired, tan-skinned child who they think gives the best hugs. At the narrator’s behest, the protagonist spends their bedtime routine receiving affection from a wacky cast of creatures, ranging from meerkats to porcupines to narwhals. These animals have a variety of body types, but even those with a lack of limbs still express their love; the seahorse, for example, gives the child a “smooch” right before bathtime, and a grinning cobra offers the child a “clinch,” wrapping itself around their leg. Although many of the animals prove to be more prickly than cozy—the narrator points out, for example, the sharpness of bird beaks and porcupine quills—even the snuggliest koalas and bears cannot compare to the best hug of all: a parent’s embrace right before bedtime. The use of second-person address combined with the protagonist’s beautifully illustrated facial expressions and the buoyant, clever lines of verse render this book a hilarious and whimsical ride sure to delight both children and the adults who read to them. The pictures and text work together to create a clear narrative arc for the protagonist, and though the ending is a bit predictable, it’s nevertheless a wonderful payoff. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A delightfully silly celebration of familial love. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5476-1236-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
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BOOK REVIEW
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