A funny and thoughtful picture book for kids who are a little bit different.
An unusual apple seeks his true home in Crafts and Burakoff’s picture book.
It’s easy to feel lost in a 247-person family. The unnamed bespectacled narrator doesn’t fit in; he doesn’t like getting wet when its family goes swimming, and he gets motion sickness when rolling down hills. This apple’s imagination seems to stretch farther than those of his cousins, so he decides to strike out on his own. The journey is not without bumps and bruises, but eventually the narrator lands in the Big Apple. He meets others with whom he has interests and dreams in common (despite having different shapes). Though the apple isn’t entirely sure of himself, he learns how to make art, guided by pear, pineapple, and even blueberry friends. At his art show in the city, the apple is surprised to see not only his new friends but his relatives as well. This inspires the apple to return home and re-imagine his relationship to the place. This narrative cleverly turns a classic idiom on its head: “Even though I didn’t fit in, I always belonged.” Burakoff and Crafts delight in wordplay, sneaking in phrases like “reconnect with my roots.” Hope’s bright illustrations in natural tones are cute and warm, engaging in their own visual jokes, like the “One in a Melon” sticker on the bandwagon.
A funny and thoughtful picture book for kids who are a little bit different. (Picture book about belonging for ages 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9781962447164
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Genius Cat Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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