The hard truth is that this book’s twist doesn’t quite land.
The arrival of a new baby elicits joy…and uncertainty.
When Micah (a boy with light-brown skin that is between his mother’s lighter shade and his father’s darker skin tone) sees a sonogram picture on his refrigerator, he thinks it looks like an alien. His parents explain they are having a new baby, and Micah seeks out advice from older Cousin Maxwell. Maxwell, who is brown-skinned, confirms Micah’s alien suspicions and shares the telltale signs for determining for sure whether the baby is an extraterrestrial, including the presence of green skin. When baby Lily is born, illustrations depict her with green skin, which no one but Micah and Cousin Maxwell seems to notice. The internal logic of the story falls apart when Micah and his mom bring Lily to his school for Show-and-Share. “ ‘Why would anyone bring a weird baby in for Show-and-Share?’ said a particularly rude classmate. Micah froze. Lily did not.” An accompanying illustration shows green-skinned Lily shooting the light-skinned classmate with lasers from her eyes and vaporizing him. Everyone sees this, so Lily’s alienlike status can’t be chalked up to big-brother jitters enabled by a cousin. Though anxiety surrounding a new sibling is a perennially popular topic, and the big-headed, cartoonish characters cut endearing figures in Obuhanych’s digitally finished watercolor, colored pencil, and collage illustrations, this tale will leave many little ones perplexed. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
The hard truth is that this book’s twist doesn’t quite land. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: May 9, 2023
ISBN: 9781250818553
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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
A sweet notion that falls flat.
A hit song reimagined as a book about parental love.
Featured in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 1, Perri’s “A Thousand Years” deals with the speaker’s fear of romantic love. In picture-book form, it explores a parent’s unwavering love for a child, who grows from an infant into a toddler over the course of the narrative. The caregiver expresses awe when the youngster learns to stand and fear that the child might fall while beginning to walk. “I have spent every day waiting for you,” the parent says. “Darling, don’t be afraid.” What the child might fear isn’t clear from the joyful balloon- and rainbow-filled illustrations. The story borders on cloying, and words that might work when sung and accompanied by music don’t sound fresh on the page: “Time goes by. / You grow ever stronger as you fly.” The refrain, however, is a lovely sentiment: “I have loved you for a thousand years. / I’ll love you for a thousand more.” Perri’s legion of fans may flock to this version, illustrated by Ruiz with sparkling stars, bubbles, and big-eyed toddlers, but it doesn’t hold together as a narrative or an ode, as it’s billed, and it’s a long way from the original song. The child is tan-skinned, the parent is lighter-skinned, and other characters are diverse.
A sweet notion that falls flat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9780593622599
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
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