Readers will love the illustrations, but they might also feel cheated by the premise—disappointing.
So many choices in a seemingly simple day!
“What will Danny wear today?” Colorful socks pour out of his dresser, and the open wardrobe offers a rainbow of colors and patterns and styles. And so goes the day. Every double-page spread of options is dense with lively figures and raucous color. Will the brown-haired white boy choose a “crunchy, chewy, or wobbly” breakfast? What will he drink? He can pedal, skip, walk, ride, or zip to school, and what will he learn there? Painting…playing the piano...rocket building? Who will teach Danny today: the turbaned Sikh, the green ET with five eyes, Shakespeare? During physical education, will he “run, jump, or hit balls?” And at recess, “slide, swing, or seesaw?” What will he do for his after-school art activity? What will he do with his dad after that? At the end of the long day, which book will he choose? And here the book at last provides an answer: the very one readers are holding! Goodhart presents copious choices but (except for the end) never reveals what Danny has chosen. The cover’s claim that readers get to “decide” what Danny does is plain false. But Usher’s shaggy, busy illustrations, bristling with visual foolishness and populated by a multiracial cast, are a delight.
Readers will love the illustrations, but they might also feel cheated by the premise—disappointing. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-61067-512-3
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
High-quality, inclusive illustrations make this one stand out.
From the changing season to decorations and costumes, children anticipate Halloween.
Little readers will enjoy all of the familiar markers of the season included in this book: falling leaves, jack-o’-lanterns, Halloween costumes, candy, and trick-or-treating. Everett’s rhyming couplets bob along safely, offering nothing that will wow but enough to keep the pages turning. It’s Wen’s illustrations that give the most to readers, full of bustling scenes and lovely details. A double-page spread of the children in town in front of the candy store includes jars with individually drawn treats and other festive delicacies. The townwide celebration features instruments, creative costumes, and a diverse crowd of people. There are three children who appear as the focus of the illustrations, though there are many secondary characters. One bespectacled White child is drawn in a manual wheelchair, another has dark brown skin, the third presents Asian. The child in the wheelchair is shown as a full participant. Readers will enjoy spotting spooks like a vampire, goblin, and werewolf, as they sometimes appear in the background and other times blend in with the crowd. The familiar trappings of Halloween paired with the robust illustrations will have little readers wanting to reread even if the content itself is not startlingly new.
High-quality, inclusive illustrations make this one stand out. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-0586-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
A wandering effort, happy but pointless.
The perfect book for kids who love dragons and mild tacos.
Rubin’s story starts with an incantatory edge: “Hey, kid! Did you know that dragons love tacos? They love beef tacos and chicken tacos. They love really big gigantic tacos and tiny little baby tacos as well.” The playing field is set: dragons, tacos. As a pairing, they are fairly silly, and when the kicker comes in—that dragons hate spicy salsa, which ignites their inner fireworks—the silliness is sillier still. Second nature, after all, is for dragons to blow flames out their noses. So when the kid throws a taco party for the dragons, it seems a weak device that the clearly labeled “totally mild” salsa comes with spicy jalapenos in the fine print, prompting the dragons to burn down the house, resulting in a barn-raising at which more tacos are served. Harmless, but if there is a parable hidden in the dragon-taco tale, it is hidden in the unlit deep, and as a measure of lunacy, bridled or unbridled, it doesn’t make the leap into the outer reaches of imagination. Salmieri’s artwork is fitting, with a crabbed, ethereal line work reminiscent of Peter Sís, but the story does not offer it enough range.
A wandering effort, happy but pointless. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 14, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3680-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
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
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
