An upbeat tribute to an existence marked by hard work but nevertheless filled with joy.
What do homesteading kids do? Here’s an alphabet of answers!
The family at the center of this ABC book keeps busy with varying tasks, many of which involve getting fresh air: “E is for eggs,” “H is for harvest,” “L is for livestock,” “O is for orchards,” and more. But quite a lot goes on indoors: baking, canning, sewing, and enjoying the Yule log. Some topics may be unfamiliar (not all readers will have visited a root cellar, for instance), but several examples speak to universally resonant moments, like many youngsters’ habit of forgetting items left under the bed. The family members—who vary in skin tone and include three children and three adults—are often accompanied by a small white dog with brown spots, curiously poking its nose into things. Brief, clear, alliterative text adds a bit more information for each letter: “W is for windmills that pump water from wells all winter long.” Alternating vignettes with full-page spreads, the watercolorlike art is realistic, soft-edged, and gently imperfect. A final page offers a list of helpful activities that homesteading kids—or, for most suggestions, any other youngsters—could practice. This engaging book might introduce urban and suburban audiences to a way of life both old and new.
An upbeat tribute to an existence marked by hard work but nevertheless filled with joy. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2025
ISBN: 9781641709668
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Familius
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Caregivers eager to expose their children to fine art have better choices than this.
From “Apple” to “Zebra,” an alphabet of images drawn from museum paintings.
In an exhibition that recalls similar, if less parochial, ABCs from the Metropolitan Museum of Art (My First ABC, 2009) and several other institutions, Hahn presents a Eurocentric selection of paintings or details to illustrate for each letter a common item or animal—all printed with reasonable clarity and captioned with identifying names, titles, and dates. She then proceeds to saddle each with an inane question (“What sounds do you think this cat is making?” “Where can you find ice?”) and a clumsily written couplet that unnecessarily repeats the artist’s name: “Flowers are plants that blossom and bloom. / Frédéric Bazille painted them filling up this room!” She also sometimes contradicts the visuals, claiming that the horses in a Franz Marc painting entitled “Two Horses, 1912” are ponies, apparently to populate the P page. Moreover, her “X” is an actual X-ray of a Jean-Honoré Fragonard, showing that the artist repainted his subject’s face…interesting but not quite in keeping with the familiar subjects chosen for the other letters.
Caregivers eager to expose their children to fine art have better choices than this. (Informational picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5107-4938-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
Adults looking for an easy entry into this subject will not be disappointed.
This book presents a simplified explanation of the role the atmosphere plays in controlling climate.
The authors present a planet as a ball and its atmosphere as a blanket that envelops the ball. If the blanket is thick, the planet will be hot, as is the case for Venus. If the blanket is thin, the planet is cold, as with Mars. Planet Earth has a blanket that traps “just the right amount of heat.” The authors explain trees, animals, and oceans are part of what makes Earth’s atmosphere “just right.” “But…Uh-oh! People on Earth are changing the blanket!” The book goes on to explain how some human activities are sending “greenhouse gases” into the atmosphere, thus “making the blanket heavier and thicker” and “making Earth feel unwell.” In the case of a planet feeling unwell, what would the symptoms be? Sea-level rises that lead to erosion, flooding, and island loss, along with extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, blizzards, and wildfires. Ending on a constructive note, the authors name a few of the remedies to “help our Earth before it’s too late!” By using the blanket analogy, alongside simple and clear illustrations, this otherwise complex topic becomes very accessible to young children, though caregivers will need to help with the specialized vocabulary.
Adults looking for an easy entry into this subject will not be disappointed. (Board book. 3-4)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4926-8082-6
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
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