Turns “us against them” on its head to celebrate the transformative joy found in diverse communities.
With a perfect (bunny) ear for what kids want, Willems employs his signature style as he encourages readers to forge connections.
Each spread is made up of two pages with different yet equally bright, solidly colored backdrops—a clever way to hint at divisions in our society. The opening pages show a bunny on the left-facing page and the words “i am ME” on the right. The next spread shows a second bunny, this time on the right-facing page, with the text “you are YOU” on the left. The page turn reveals the two creatures together on the left-facing page, accompanied by the text “we are US.” Each spread thereafter introduces new bunnies on the right-facing page who join the existing characters, affirming a unifying message: “whoa! More US!” While the bunnies do express apprehension about the newcomers, some of whom have obvious differences (such as the use of mobility aids or varied fur colors or styles of dress), everyone is welcome. Though this title explores a complex topic—the importance of cultivating bonds even with those who appear different—it’s amazingly attuned to its audience. The text is minimal, but the consistently uncluttered art design makes the message clear. Hinting at P.D. Eastman’s classic Go, Dog. Go! or the busy pages of Richard Scarry's, this tale blends whimsy and delight with a thoughtful but never preachy takeaway.
Turns “us against them” on its head to celebrate the transformative joy found in diverse communities. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781454951490
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2025
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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