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I BELIEVE IN GENEVIEVE

Name: I BELIEVE IN GENEVIEVE
Author: Jenny Craig
ISBN: 978-1-62157-085-1

by Jenny Craig ; illustrated by Wendy Edelson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 23, 2013

Grandmas who believe in the Jenny Craig weight-loss program are the only possible market for this book.

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Weight-loss guru Craig offers lifestyle advice for children wrapped up in a sugary junk-food version of a pony story.

Young Genevieve (who goes by Jenny) wants to swap work at a nearby stable for a chance to attend a summer riding camp. The owner accepts and offers her the use of an old horse she names Candy Ride. They both love sugared snacks, but the goodies make her and her horse feel awful, while exercise and healthy eating transform them into horse-show champions. Although the introduction features a photograph of a racehorse Craig once owned, she cuts a lot of literary corners in her representation of basic horse care—the idea that a child could alter a lesson horse’s feeding plan is preposterous, as is the idea that the horses wouldn’t have been appropriately fed already by the stable owner. As for the likelihood of a girl who isn’t strong enough to ride lifting hay bales as a workout? Those bales weigh between 40 and 70 pounds each. Edelson’s colorful watercolor illustrations likewise play fast and loose with horse anatomy and tack—some is completely impossible—and, aside from one vaguely well-tanned girl, feature only white girls as riders.

Grandmas who believe in the Jenny Craig weight-loss program are the only possible market for this book. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2013

ISBN: 978-1-62157-085-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Regnery

Review Posted Online: June 25, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2013

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING

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THE PIE REPORTS

by Hayley Lowe ; illustrated by Hayley Lowe ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2024

A cozy read to share, especially with beloved older relatives.

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A mutual love of pie seals an affectionate relationship.

Noor and Granddad are separated by an ocean (though their locations are unspecified). Still, they share a common passion—pie—which they eat together every summer, when Noor and Mom travel by plane to visit Granddad and Nana. Then Noor and her grandfather bake up a storm. The most special—albeit bittersweet—one is the “time-to-say-goodbye pie,” the signal that it’s time for Noor and Mom to leave. But Noor and Granddad still meet virtually for their Friday “pie reports,” where they discuss what’s going on in their lives. Just before Noor leaves this summer, she learns that Granddad’s health is declining; his “arm [has] been shaking more than usual.” Granddad calls these incidents “blue days.” As Granddad’s symptoms increase, he skips their pie reports, so Noor writes her reports and reads them aloud at their next visit. When necessary, Granddad rests; sometimes, he’s better. At story’s end, Noor gives Granddad a hopeful card that reads “For when you need to find your way out of the blue” and tells him he’s stronger than he knows. This upbeat, warmhearted tale bubbles with sweetness; children will appreciate the protagonists’ intergenerational bond as well as the food theme. The delightful illustrations were created with pencil and graphite sticks on paper, then digitally colored; kids will savor those pastries. Noor and Mom have light-brown skin. Granddad is lighter-skinned, and Nana is brown-skinned.

A cozy read to share, especially with beloved older relatives. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: May 14, 2024

ISBN: 9781459838079

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Orca

Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
DIAPER KID
by Loretta Garbutt ; illustrated by Hayley Lowe

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THIS IS A SCHOOL

by John Schu ; illustrated by Veronica Miller Jamison ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2022

A full-hearted valentine.

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A soaring panegyric to elementary school as a communal place to learn and grow.

“This is a kid,” Schu begins. “This is a kid in a class. This is a class in a hall….” If that class—possibly second graders, though they could be a year to either side of that—numbers only about a dozen in Jamison’s bright paintings, it makes up for that in diversity, with shiny faces of variously brown or olive complexion well outnumbering paler ones; one child using a wheelchair; and at least two who appear to be Asian. (The adult staff is likewise racially diverse.) The children are individualized in the art, but the author’s narrative is addressed more to an older set of readers as it runs almost entirely to collective nouns and abstract concepts: “We share. We help. / This is a community, growing.” Younger audiences will zero in on the pictures, which depict easily recognizable scenes of both individual and collective learning and play, with adults and classmates always on hand to help out or join in. Signs of conflict are unrealistically absent, but an occasional downcast look does add a bit of nuance to the general air of eager positivity on display. A sad face at an apartment window with a comment that “[s]ometimes something happens, and we can’t all be together” can be interpreted as an oblique reference to pandemic closings, but the central message here is that school is a physical space, not a virtual one, where learning and community happen. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A full-hearted valentine. (Picture book. 5-7)