The moral of this wise story: It’s always best to be true to one’s self.
It’s Dot’s first day at her new school, and she wants to make friends…or maybe she’ll wait until tomorrow.
The little girl likes to take things slow—something her pet tortoise, Monty, understands. Then Dot learns that a classmate named Jude has a tortoise, too! She’s about to chime in when another girl sneers that tortoises are boring. Instead, Dot announces that she has a pet…tortosaurus! Luckily, Dot’s a crafts whiz. At show and tell, Monty arrives bedecked in dinosaurlike scales; her classmates are wowed. Monty’s fame spreads, to his chagrin: This fast life’s a drag. He doesn’t want to be someone he’s not, but he doesn’t want to disappoint Dot. Meanwhile, Dot’s frustrated that her new friends only want to take “shell-fies” with Monty. When Monty’s awarded a “certificate of reptilian excellence” at a school assembly, he finds the hot stage lights uncomfortable and sheds his costume. An angry Dot runs home with him but apologizes when she realizes she forced Monty to be someone he wasn’t. Dot decides to be true to herself and emerge from her shell, too, bonding with Jude. This sweet U.K. import conveys important messages to children who wonder about making friends and are uncertain about their identities. The cheery color illustrations enliven the tale; readers will appreciate Monty’s fanciful dinosaur get-up. Bespectacled Dot is pale-skinned, Jude is brown-skinned, and their classmates and background figures are diverse.
The moral of this wise story: It’s always best to be true to one’s self. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781664300682
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child...
Imani endures the insults heaped upon her by the other village children, but she never gives up her dreams.
The Masai girl is tiny compared to the other children, but she is full of imagination and perseverance. Luckily, she has a mother who believes in her and tells her stories that will fuel that imagination. Mama tells her about the moon goddess, Olapa, who wins over the sun god. She tells Imani about Anansi, the trickster spider who vanquishes a larger snake. (Troublingly, the fact that Anansi is a West African figure, not of the Masai, goes unaddressed in both text and author’s note.) Inspired, the tiny girl tries to find new ways to achieve her dream: to touch the moon. One day, after crashing to the ground yet again when her leafy wings fail, she is ready to forget her hopes. That night, she witnesses the adumu, the special warriors’ jumping dance. Imani wakes the next morning, determined to jump to the moon. After jumping all day, she reaches the moon, meets Olapa and receives a special present from the goddess, a small moon rock. Now she becomes the storyteller when she relates her adventure to Mama. The watercolor-and-graphite illustrations have been enhanced digitally, and the night scenes of storytelling and fantasy with their glowing stars and moons have a more powerful impact than the daytime scenes, with their blander colors.
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child to be admired. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-934133-57-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Mackinac Island Press
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
