Will help alleviate fears and start kids thinking about ways to create their own KINDergartens.
While shy Leo wants no part of sharing ways to be kind aloud with his new kindergarten class, that doesn’t mean he isn’t kind.
Leo enjoys quiet activities and time with his extended family, so it’s only natural that he’s nervous about starting school. Luckily, Leo has the perfect teacher. Not only does she greet Leo personally and offer to help him get through his nervousness, but she also sets him up with new friends who also prefer quiet activities. Still, Leo, who wears a zipped-up jacket with the hood up, attempts to blend in and hopes Ms. Perry won’t call on him to contribute ideas to the Kindness Pledge the class is working on. But Leo and his kindness are certainly not invisible to his new classmates, who specifically call out the many ways he has been kind during the day. Suddenly, Leo feels ready for this new adventure called kindergarten, and his now-unzipped jacket and bare head reflect that confidence. The digitally painted illustrations are full of bright colors and familiar school scenes. An author’s note describes how to use the Kindness Pledge in classrooms, when it may be especially helpful, and reminds readers that it’s also important to be kind to yourself. Leo, his family, and Ms. Perry are brown-skinned, and Leo’s classmates are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Will help alleviate fears and start kids thinking about ways to create their own KINDergartens. (Kindness Pledge poster) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: June 21, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-48462-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House Studio
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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