A beautifully illustrated but awkwardly told board book about blooming as you are.
A garden tour serves as a vehicle for celebrating readers’ individuality.
Each page features a rhyming couplet that highlights the differences between plants that mostly grow side by side. The first spread compares jasmine, a climbing vine, with periwinkle, a ground cover, while later couplets contrast morning glories and moonflowers, which bloom during the day and night, respectively, and “spiky” catmint and “soft” hydrangeas. While the implication is that all of these flowers are in the same garden, the book also compares poppies, which grow in dry climates, with irises, which need lots of rain. After listing these differences, the book implies that these plants thrive by focusing on their own growth and self-worth rather than comparing themselves to others. Finally, readers are told that they, too, are perfect just the way they are and are encouraged to grow into who they were always meant to be. The lush, vibrant, minutely detailed illustrations will capture the curiosity of very young readers: The birds and insects that dot the pages are particularly impressive. Although the text is charming, however, it isn’t particularly original, and, on the first read, the transition to the lesson of self-celebration at the end feels abrupt. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A beautifully illustrated but awkwardly told board book about blooming as you are. (Board book. 0-3)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-4236-6358-4
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Gibbs Smith
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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