LENNY & LUCY

Name: LENNY & LUCY
Author: Philip C. Stead
ISBN: 978-1-59643-932-0

by Philip C. Stead ; illustrated by Erin E. Stead ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 6, 2015

Hypnotic artwork and storytelling invite children to linger in the wild woods of worry and emerge intact, enriched, and...

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Peter, his dad, and his dog, Harold, move to a narrow house just on the other side of “dark unfriendly woods,” across a rickety bridge.

Smudgy grays describe this new, murky place, communicating all of Peter’s uneasiness and uncertainty. Details as sharp as his edgy fears (“Terrible things hid in the trees”) ripple through riveting illustrations, in overwhelming floral wallpapers and spiky tree trunks, all bathed in graphite. Colors (yellows, blues, greens, and purples) appear only in spots, buoys in rough waters. Gripping narration unspools the story with the measured, easy command of a Grimm—or a Neil Gaiman. Children might wiggle a bit as they absorb, with grave recognition, the streaming undercurrents of discomfort and loneliness. To combat both these feelings and the things in the woods, Peter builds a pillow man he calls Lenny, Guardian of the Bridge, and, soon after, a friend for him named Lucy. These pillow people, somehow human in both their form (button eyes convey remarkable feeling) and puffy vulnerability, seem swollen with acute worries. They are the Guardians, after all. Subtly, quietly, Lenny and Lucy eventually move a bit, lifting their hats to a neighbor girl named Millie, who comes to Peter bringing binoculars, marshmallows, and the unspoken promise of friendship.

Hypnotic artwork and storytelling invite children to linger in the wild woods of worry and emerge intact, enriched, and utterly invigorated by this complex, contemporary fairy tale. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-59643-932-0

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Neal Porter/Roaring Brook

Review Posted Online: May 5, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NORTH WIND & THE SUN
by Philip C. Stead ; illustrated by Philip C. Stead

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SOMETIMES IT'S NICE TO BE ALONE
by Amy Hest ; illustrated by Philip C. Stead

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THE SUN IS LATE AND SO IS THE FARMER
by Philip C. Stead ; illustrated by Erin E. Stead

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THE WORLD NEEDS THE WONDER YOU SEE

by Joanna Gaines ; illustrated by Julianna Swaney ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 28, 2025

Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children.

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Interior decorator and TV personality Gaines invites readers to open their eyes and exercise their imaginations.

There’s a world to be explored out there—and only children can really take part. What does “looking for wonder” entail? Slowing down and looking up, around, and everywhere. At the outset, a group of eager, racially diverse young friends—including one who uses a wheelchair—are fully prepared for a grand adventure. They offer tips about how and where to look: Why, there’s a “grand parade” of marching ants! And, these kids add, perspective is key. A rainy day might signal gloom to some, but to those filled with wonder, showers bring “magic puddles for play”; a forest is “an enchanted world,” the ocean conceals “a spectacular city,” and the night sky boasts “extraordinary sights.” The takeaway: “Wonder is never in short supply.” It’s a robust, empowering message, as is the exhortation to “keep your mind open, and let curiosity guide the way.” Youngsters are also advised to share their discoveries. The upbeat narrative is delivered in clunky verse, but the colorful cartoonish illustrations brimming with activity and good cheer (including some adorable anthropomorphized animals in the backgrounds) make up for the textual lapses and should motivate readers to embark on their own “wonder explorations.”

Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025

ISBN: 9781400247417

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Tommy Nelson

Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WORLD NEEDS WHO YOU WERE MADE TO BE
by Joanna Gaines ; illustrated by Julianna Swaney

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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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)