This engaging, inclusive book will be a welcome addition to shelves in Christian homes or church libraries.
Breakfast traditions from all around the Christian world.
Readers begin their journey in this book with the Bible story of Jesus’ preparing breakfast for his disciples as an act of love and caring. Fast-forward thousands of years to the present day, and readers discover how Christians eat their breakfasts in locations all over the globe and even in spaceships above it. These breakfasts are portrayed as a way to celebrate faith together and to praise Jesus. Within each double-page snapshot, detailed cartoons present both characters and inset drawings of the foods they are about to eat. Alongside each inset is a factual gloss about that particular breakfast, including how the food is made and the cultural meaning of each meal. A Ghanaian girl breakfasts on hausa koko (a millet porridge); a Russian boy eats syrniki (cottage-cheese pancakes); a Chinese congregation worshiping in secret enjoys noodles and dumplings. Diverse cultures are represented, with visits to each of the continents, including a research station in Antarctica. Some breakfasts are enjoyed within families; others are shared among friends; and some are prepared to give to those in need. The common thread throughout is the joy all take in their breakfasts, just as Jesus and the disciples took joy in theirs.
This engaging, inclusive book will be a welcome addition to shelves in Christian homes or church libraries. (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7369-7712-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harvest House
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
A cozy read to share, especially with beloved older relatives.
A mutual love of pie seals an affectionate relationship.
Noor and Granddad are separated by an ocean (though their locations are unspecified). Still, they share a common passion—pie—which they eat together every summer, when Noor and Mom travel by plane to visit Granddad and Nana. Then Noor and her grandfather bake up a storm. The most special—albeit bittersweet—one is the “time-to-say-goodbye pie,” the signal that it’s time for Noor and Mom to leave. But Noor and Granddad still meet virtually for their Friday “pie reports,” where they discuss what’s going on in their lives. Just before Noor leaves this summer, she learns that Granddad’s health is declining; his “arm [has] been shaking more than usual.” Granddad calls these incidents “blue days.” As Granddad’s symptoms increase, he skips their pie reports, so Noor writes her reports and reads them aloud at their next visit. When necessary, Granddad rests; sometimes, he’s better. At story’s end, Noor gives Granddad a hopeful card that reads “For when you need to find your way out of the blue” and tells him he’s stronger than he knows. This upbeat, warmhearted tale bubbles with sweetness; children will appreciate the protagonists’ intergenerational bond as well as the food theme. The delightful illustrations were created with pencil and graphite sticks on paper, then digitally colored; kids will savor those pastries. Noor and Mom have light-brown skin. Granddad is lighter-skinned, and Nana is brown-skinned.
A cozy read to share, especially with beloved older relatives. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 14, 2024
ISBN: 9781459838079
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
A full-hearted valentine.
A soaring panegyric to elementary school as a communal place to learn and grow.
“This is a kid,” Schu begins. “This is a kid in a class. This is a class in a hall….” If that class—possibly second graders, though they could be a year to either side of that—numbers only about a dozen in Jamison’s bright paintings, it makes up for that in diversity, with shiny faces of variously brown or olive complexion well outnumbering paler ones; one child using a wheelchair; and at least two who appear to be Asian. (The adult staff is likewise racially diverse.) The children are individualized in the art, but the author’s narrative is addressed more to an older set of readers as it runs almost entirely to collective nouns and abstract concepts: “We share. We help. / This is a community, growing.” Younger audiences will zero in on the pictures, which depict easily recognizable scenes of both individual and collective learning and play, with adults and classmates always on hand to help out or join in. Signs of conflict are unrealistically absent, but an occasional downcast look does add a bit of nuance to the general air of eager positivity on display. A sad face at an apartment window with a comment that “[s]ometimes something happens, and we can’t all be together” can be interpreted as an oblique reference to pandemic closings, but the central message here is that school is a physical space, not a virtual one, where learning and community happen. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A full-hearted valentine. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0458-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
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