Empathy and kindness are just as important as ABCs and 123s, and Amanda gives readers a good lesson.
Amanda Panda starts off an unlikable kindergartner, but school (and exposure to other kids) teaches her how to be a friend, and that might be the most important lesson of all.
Amanda Panda (not the Amanda Panda of Sarah Dillard’s First Day at Zoo School) knows who she is, what she likes, and what she’s good at, and she has big plans for kindergarten. Those plans don’t include the girl panda in head-to-toe pink at the bus stop, though Bitsy does her best to be Amanda’s friend. While Amanda knows that she should return Bitsy’s compliment, she doesn’t. And when Bitsy sits at the table next to Amanda, “It is the end of the world.” Indeed, the day is rough, and Amanda can’t do anything quite right. So, at the end of a disastrous recess, she stealthily joins her older brother’s second-grade line and quits kindergarten. But the chairs are too big, and she can’t read the words. Just then a lost and afraid Bitsy appears to find her new friend. Amanda’s empathy finally manifests, and she leads Bitsy by the hand to kindergarten, where suddenly everything seems brighter and Bitsy is a friend. Amanda’s transformation is a bit sudden and extreme, and instead of combining their interests, Grove shows Amanda playing with Bitsy’s toys. Still, Grove’s watercolors masterfully portray Amanda’s every emotion, even the nasty ones.
Empathy and kindness are just as important as ABCs and 123s, and Amanda gives readers a good lesson. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-55455-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
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New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.
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
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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