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THE FAERIE’S GIFT

Name: THE FAERIE’S GIFT
Author: Tanya Robyn Batt
ISBN: 1-84148-998-0

adapted by Tanya Robyn Batt & illustrated by Nicoletta Ceccoli ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2003

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A pretty tale “found in many forms across many cultures” wrapped around a lovely message about wishes and words. A poor woodcutter who lives with his childless wife, his blind mother, and his silent, elderly father saves a faerie from the talons of a hawk. The faerie man, in gratitude, places in the woodcutter’s hand a single, small, bright wish. The woodcutter carries it home, where his wife begs him to wish for a child, his mother implores him to wish for the return of her sight, and his father insists he needs to wish for gold to keep them warm and fed at last. The woodcutter walks “the day to its end” and finally finds just the right wish to bring happiness to everyone. Ceccoli’s (An Island in the Sun, not reviewed) full-page paintings (in acrylics and oil pastels) face text pages decorated with head- and tail-pieces: the colors have the warm texture and deep color of pastels with the clear edges and three-dimensional solidity of acrylics. She elongates her characters and often paints them from two angles like Egyptian tomb figures, stretching spatial planes and architectural forms to give her images a rich, dreamlike quality. A different sort of wishing story, not three, but only one and what thinking hard outside expectations might bring. (Picture book/folktale. 4-8)

Pub Date: March 1, 2003

ISBN: 1-84148-998-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Barefoot Books

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2003

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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WHY A DAUGHTER NEEDS A MOM

by Gregory R. Lange ; illustrated by Sydney Hanson ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2019

New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.

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All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.

Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.

New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)

Pub Date: May 1, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

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BECAUSE YOUR DADDY LOVES YOU

by Andrew Clements & illustrated by R.W. Alley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 23, 2005

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Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)