Even with adorable children playing with healthy food, choose another for teaching the new dietary guidelines.
A photo essay depicts children preparing and eating healthy food.
With the release of revised dietary guidelines in 2010, the U.S. Department of Agriculture also replaced the food pyramid with an initiative called MyPlate. This title aims to teach children to make healthy food choices based on these guidelines. Kids pour their own milk, make their own shakes and crack eggs all by themselves. (Depicting solo use of blenders and knives, however, may cause concern for some.) With bold background colors, staged photographs of youngsters in every shape and skin tone cover the pages in a simple layout. The diversity of faces is the book’s strongest point. The text, however, cannot decide if the audience is children or their adults. Captions repeatedly exclaim, “Good food makes me strong!” while each sidebar provides a tip for caregivers. “Buy pastas that are high in protein, legumes, and multigrains.” Contradictorily, the photo shows both wheat and white pasta, while other pages clearly show white flour and rice choices. The endnote contains information on the five food groups, along with the link to the new MyPlate initiative.
Even with adorable children playing with healthy food, choose another for teaching the new dietary guidelines. (Informational picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2426-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 15, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2013
An accessible entrance into the world of social-emotional skills.
What do you do when the world turns upside down?
Freckled redhead Tilda is a happy only child with a rollicking personality. With lots of books and toys and a multiracial group of friends, life is perfect as far as she’s concerned…until her world undergoes a troubling change (a subtle hint in the illustrations suggests that Tilda’s parents have divorced). Suddenly, nothing feels right, everything seems hard, and she doesn’t want to play with her friends. To reflect this emotional disorientation, the artwork shows Tilda in spatially distorted settings, complete with upside-down objects. It’s not until she sees an upturned ladybug struggle persistently before getting back on its feet (despite Tilda’s desire to help, the ladybug needs to help itself) that Tilda gains the courage to start taking baby steps in order to cope with her new reality. There are still challenges, and she needs to persevere, but eventually, she regains her zest for life and reconnects with her friends. Despite this, the ending avoids an easy happily-ever-after, which feels just right for the subject matter. Though a trifle didactic, the story sends an important message about the roles of self-efficacy and persistence when it comes to overcoming challenges and building resilience. Percival’s digital illustrations use transitions from grayscale to color to create symbolic meaning and have psychological depth, deftly capturing a child’s experience of trauma.
An accessible entrance into the world of social-emotional skills. (author's note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0822-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022
A soothing, logical, and playful introduction to mindfulness for young listeners.
What can you do when things go wrong?
Two children contemplate different ways to calm themselves down in this straightforward introduction to breathing, relaxation, and mindfulness. The younger, White-presenting child follows suit when the older, brown-skinned child proposes imaginative calming techniques. They picture themselves as various animals (goldfish, elephants, dragons) and objects (pinwheels, dandelions, wind chimes, flowers), inhaling and exhaling, that make deep breathing and calming down concrete and easy to comprehend. Simplified, whimsical illustrations add a touch of humor and a wink to the 1970s while preventing the story from becoming cloying, as soft, gentle instructions help the characters (and listeners) to understand some of the mechanics behind how to intentionally breathe and decompress. While not necessarily something that children will pick up unless they are learning about practicing mindfulness, this informative title has charm and warmth and will give youngsters some ideas as to how to self-regulate and manage their feelings as they learn to be aware of their breathing. Endpapers feature a multiracial array of children’s faces expressing different emotions.
A soothing, logical, and playful introduction to mindfulness for young listeners. (author's note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-77164-637-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Greystone Kids
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
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