Warmth, love, family, and memories bring joy in this poignant tribute to grandpas.
Two children remember their departed grandfathers’ love in Bradbury’s picture book.
Amber (who has brown skin and black hair) and Nate (who is fair-skinned and has brown hair) remember their grandfathers and moments they spent together. Amber recalls “waiting to see his green Chevy pick-up truck rumble up the driveway” and going off on an adventure. For Nate, learning “how to catch the biggest fish in the pond” and clapping as it was released and swam away comes to mind. Learning to ride a bicycle, eating tomatoes right out of the garden, and going to the park together elicit feelings of love and togetherness. Each double-page spread features a beautiful color illustration by Johnson reflecting the particular memory. As the book ends, the author lovingly shares, “If Grandpa were here... ...and he IS here, inside your heart and mind. Because his love and memory will always be with you, each and every day.” The story includes reflections from the older Amber and Nate on changes (and surprises) that occurred in their lives as they grew up. The illustrations add depth to the story as they demonstrate the closeness of each child to their grandparent as they spend time together. The details evoke simpler times, eating banana splits, fishing, and going to ballgames.
Warmth, love, family, and memories bring joy in this poignant tribute to grandpas.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 21
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Menacing and most likely to appeal to established fans of its co-creators.
Existing artwork from an artistic giant inspires a fairy-tale reimagination by a master of the horror genre.
In King’s interpretation of a classic Brothers Grimm story, which accompanies set and costume designs that the late Sendak created for a 1997 production of Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera, siblings Hansel and Gretel survive abandonment in the woods and an evil witch’s plot to gobble them up before finding their “happily ever after” alongside their father. Prose with the reassuring cadence of an old-timey tale, paired with Sendak’s instantly recognizable artwork, will lull readers before capitalizing on these creators’ knack for injecting darkness into seemingly safe spaces. Gaping faces loom in crevices of rocks and trees, and a gloomy palette of muted greens and ocher amplify the story’s foreboding tone, while King never sugarcoats the peach-skinned children’s peril. Branches with “clutching fingers” hide “the awful enchanted house” of a “child-stealing witch,” all portrayed in an eclectic mix of spot and full-bleed images. Featuring insults that might strike some as harsh (“idiot,” “fool”), the lengthy, dense text may try young readers’ patience, and the often overwhelmingly ominous mood feels more pitched to adults—particularly those familiar with King and Sendak—but an introduction acknowledges grandparents as a likely audience, and nostalgia may prompt leniency over an occasional disconnect between words and art.
Menacing and most likely to appeal to established fans of its co-creators. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9780062644695
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2025
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
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