A mouthwatering celebration of family, sharing, and, of course, delicious, fresh-baked bread.
Nana spends a cozy morning teaching her grandchild how to make their family’s special pull-apart bread.
The recipe for “Nana rolls” has been in the family for generations, and finally it’s the grandchild’s turn to learn. As they gather ingredients, Nana tells the child narrator—affectionately referred to as Little Pickle—the story of how her own Nana made the bread: She gathered eggs from the chicken coop, milked the cow, and stirred the dough with a wooden spoon instead of using the stand mixer that Little Pickle can turn on with the push of a button. Nana reflects on how the sharing of bread kept the family connected even when they were physically apart. Even through tough times, “still there was bread.” Nana and Little Pickle talk about the many reasons people bake together, and Nana lists types of bread made around the world: focaccia, challah, naan, fry bread, and more. Cheerful, immersive pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations bathe Nana and Little Pickle in sunlight and emanate the warmth of the kitchen as they bake. This sweet story is full of heart, spotlighting the importance of intergenerational connections and the comfort of home. The characters read white.
A mouthwatering celebration of family, sharing, and, of course, delicious, fresh-baked bread. (author’s note, Grandma Moe’s recipe for Nana rolls) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9780063216556
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
PERSPECTIVES
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Lackluster.
A parent and child introduce a way to make daily separations a bit easier.
At school drop-off, a parent rabbit comforts a sad child and hands the little one a heart-shaped object: “I’m giving you my heart to hold / whenever I’m not there.” The heart is meant to remind the child of the parent’s love, celebrate the things the child does well, calm worries, express joy, and watch over the child through the night. The book fails to spell out just how the heart does anything other than serve as a reminder of parental love, however. For instance, “Wave the heart above your head / to sing a happy song.” What’s the connection there? The heart is always in the child’s possession, even when the little bunny is with the parent, contradicting the opening premise that it’s for when the two are apart. Most troublingly, unlike a kissing hand, the wooden keepsake heart that comes with the book could easily be lost; with the statements that it’s the parent’s heart and that the love in the heart will never end, losing the token could be quite upsetting. The artwork features adorable cartoon anthropomorphic animals of various species, two of which use wheelchairs. The font sometimes fills in the centers of the lowercase g, o, a, and p letters with hearts, which may cause difficulties for youngsters reading on their own or for those with dyslexia.
Lackluster. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781680102970
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
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