by Miranda Paul ; illustrated by Paige Keiser ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 16, 2018
Move this picture book onto the shelf.
Mia makes a move when sharing space overwhelms her.
The opening text indicates that Mia is an adoptee: “When Mia moved in, Mom and Dad had a room ready for her.” She makes the room her own, but then she must adjust to sharing it when a baby comes home. While Mom shares redheaded, pale-skinned Mia’s coloring, baby Brandon looks more like Dad, with olive skin and black, straight hair. The text merely says he “arrived,” which leaves open the possibility that he was adopted, too. At first, room-sharing is fun, but their room becomes increasingly messy. A climactic illustration depicts clutter and chaos overtaking a central spread, and Mia’s frustrated declaration “I’m moving out!” appears in oversized, red type. Mia’s move occurs within the house—first to the bathroom, then the basement, then the pantry, and so on. Each new space is unsuitable for some humorous reason. A nook fashioned of a blanket overhanging a bookcase seems ideal until Mia decides “it needed something.” Brandon is that something, and together they create a big, open play-space outside. Never do they solve the indoor clutter problem, to which they’ll presumably return, but this narrative gap recedes behind the pleasure of seeing adoptee characters confidently negotiating a sense of home and belonging.
Move this picture book onto the shelf. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-399-55332-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
Share your opinion of this book
More by Miranda Paul
BOOK REVIEW
by Miranda Paul illustrated by Julien Chung
BOOK REVIEW
by Rashida Tlaib & Adam Tlaib with Miranda Paul ; illustrated by Olivia Aserr
BOOK REVIEW
by Miranda Paul ; illustrated by Bea Jackson
by Kevin Jonas & Danielle Jonas ; illustrated by Courtney Dawson ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2022
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
Share your opinion of this book
More by Kevin Jonas
BOOK REVIEW
by Kevin Jonas & Danielle Jonas ; illustrated by Courtney Dawson
by Jimmy Fallon ; illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2015
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
Share your opinion of this book
More by Jimmy Fallon
BOOK REVIEW
by Jimmy Fallon & Jennifer Lopez ; illustrated by Andrea Campos
More About This Book
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.