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LITTLE BRO, BIG SIS

Name: LITTLE BRO, BIG SIS
Author: Rocio Bonilla
ISBN: 978-1-62354-109-5

by Rocio Bonilla ; illustrated by Rocio Bonilla ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 3, 2019

Clever but shallow.

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Experience both sides of sibling rivalry in this “flip-me-over” Spanish import.

“I don’t like my brother,” exclaims the titular sis, pointing at her bro (depicted as a monkey). He’s needy, annoying, and noisy. But sometimes she misses him. Maybe it’s not so bad having a sibling—or so she thinks until she hears the wails of her family’s new baby. The story ends there, at its center. Readers can flip the book over and then read it again from the brother’s perspective. Cue the déjà vu: “I don’t like my sister” exclaims bro (now a human), pointing at his sis (now a rhino). Brother has his own laundry list of complaints about his sister—and, of course, a few positive thoughts, too. And, well, readers will know how the rest of the story goes. The dual-perspective storytelling is an interesting conceit, particularly in the way it plays with the first-person–limited narration and animal-as-metaphor device. Repeated phrases and mirrored image placement create strong visual parallels between the two sides of the story. Bonilla’s mixed-media illustrations emphasize expressive characters and cartoon sequences. Though bro is seen playing with dolls and wearing a dress, both siblings are rather stereotypical (and pretty one-note in their negativism). The siblings present white, but there is some racial diversity in the supporting cast.

Clever but shallow. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-62354-109-5

Page Count: 56

Publisher: Charlesbridge

Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
by Rocio Bonilla ; illustrated by Rocio Bonilla ; translated by Maya Faye Lethem

- BOOK REVIEW
BABY BELLY
by Patricia Martin ; illustrated by Rocio Bonilla

- BOOK REVIEW
SLEEPY TIME
by Patricia Martin ; illustrated by Rocio Bonilla

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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)

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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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TINY T. REX AND THE IMPOSSIBLE HUG

by Jonathan Stutzman ; illustrated by Jay Fleck ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2019

Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back.

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With such short arms, how can Tiny T. Rex give a sad friend a hug?

Fleck goes for cute in the simple, minimally detailed illustrations, drawing the diminutive theropod with a chubby turquoise body and little nubs for limbs under a massive, squared-off head. Impelled by the sight of stegosaurian buddy Pointy looking glum, little Tiny sets out to attempt the seemingly impossible, a comforting hug. Having made the rounds seeking advice—the dino’s pea-green dad recommends math; purple, New Age aunt offers cucumber juice (“That is disgusting”); red mom tells him that it’s OK not to be able to hug (“You are tiny, but your heart is big!”), and blue and yellow older sibs suggest practice—Tiny takes up the last as the most immediately useful notion. Unfortunately, the “tree” the little reptile tries to hug turns out to be a pterodactyl’s leg. “Now I am falling,” Tiny notes in the consistently self-referential narrative. “I should not have let go.” Fortunately, Tiny lands on Pointy’s head, and the proclamation that though Rexes’ hugs may be tiny, “I will do my very best because you are my very best friend” proves just the mood-lightening ticket. “Thank you, Tiny. That was the biggest hug ever.” Young audiences always find the “clueless grown-ups” trope a knee-slapper, the overall tone never turns preachy, and Tiny’s instinctive kindness definitely puts him at (gentle) odds with the dinky dino star of Bob Shea’s Dinosaur Vs. series.

Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back. (Picture book. 5-7)