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I CAN DO IT MYSELF

Name: I CAN DO IT MYSELF
Author: Valorie Fisher
ISBN: 978-0-449-81593-9

by Valorie Fisher ; illustrated by Valorie Fisher ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 8, 2014

Ultimately, haphazard structure undermines a visually engaging presentation.

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A series of colorful, photographed spreads provides visual instruction and documentation of various tasks and skills for child readers to master.

From writing letters and numbers through identifying shapes and colors to setting the table and making lemonade, each spread provides affirmation and support of young readers’ burgeoning achievements and milestones. Unfortunately, even though the spreads are visually arresting, they are not always smoothly sequenced. The book starts well, encouraging children to identify their left and right hands and then to take up a pencil with one or the other to make numbers, letters and then words. But then an introduction of shapes and colors leads to the use of scissors, followed by identifying patterns and then dressing and other types of self-care. This results in a package that seems like a collection of posters or a catalog rather than a cohesive picture book. It’s difficult to imagine a reading transaction that would have children following through the book from one page to the next with rapt attention to the lessons they convey in order to have readers fulfill the title’s promise. Still, the use of plastic dolls to complement photographs of humans and diagrams is child-pleasing, and preschoolers who simply leaf through it may find themselves inspired.

Ultimately, haphazard structure undermines a visually engaging presentation. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: July 8, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-449-81593-9

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING

- BOOK REVIEW
LOOK AND COOK BREAKFAST
by Valorie Fisher ; photographed by Valorie Fisher

- BOOK REVIEW
NOW YOU KNOW WHAT YOU EAT
by Valorie Fisher ; illustrated by Valorie Fisher

- BOOK REVIEW
NOW YOU KNOW HOW IT WORKS
by Valorie Fisher ; illustrated by Valorie Fisher

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TILDA TRIES AGAIN

From the Big Bright Feelings series

by Tom Percival ; illustrated by Tom Percival ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2022

An accessible entrance into the world of social-emotional skills.

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What do you do when the world turns upside down?

Freckled redhead Tilda is a happy only child with a rollicking personality. With lots of books and toys and a multiracial group of friends, life is perfect as far as she’s concerned…until her world undergoes a troubling change (a subtle hint in the illustrations suggests that Tilda’s parents have divorced). Suddenly, nothing feels right, everything seems hard, and she doesn’t want to play with her friends. To reflect this emotional disorientation, the artwork shows Tilda in spatially distorted settings, complete with upside-down objects. It’s not until she sees an upturned ladybug struggle persistently before getting back on its feet (despite Tilda’s desire to help, the ladybug needs to help itself) that Tilda gains the courage to start taking baby steps in order to cope with her new reality. There are still challenges, and she needs to persevere, but eventually, she regains her zest for life and reconnects with her friends. Despite this, the ending avoids an easy happily-ever-after, which feels just right for the subject matter. Though a trifle didactic, the story sends an important message about the roles of self-efficacy and persistence when it comes to overcoming challenges and building resilience. Percival’s digital illustrations use transitions from grayscale to color to create symbolic meaning and have psychological depth, deftly capturing a child’s experience of trauma.

An accessible entrance into the world of social-emotional skills. (author's note) (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: March 1, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-5476-0822-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING

- BOOK REVIEW
FINN'S LITTLE FIBS
by Tom Percival ; illustrated by Tom Percival

- BOOK REVIEW
MILO'S MONSTER
by Tom Percival ; illustrated by Tom Percival

- BOOK REVIEW
MEESHA MAKES FRIENDS
by Tom Percival ; illustrated by Tom Percival

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HAPPY EASTER FROM THE CRAYONS

by Drew Daywalt ; illustrated by Oliver Jeffers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 7, 2023

Let these crayons go back into their box.

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The Crayons return to celebrate Easter.

Six crayons (Red, Orange, Yellow, Esteban, who is green and wears a yellow cape, White, and Blue) each take a shape and scribble designs on it. Purple, perplexed and almost angry, keeps asking why no one is creating an egg, but the six friends have a great idea. They take the circle decorated with red shapes, the square adorned with orange squiggles “the color of the sun,” the triangle with yellow designs, also “the color of the sun” (a bit repetitious), a rectangle with green wavy lines, a white star, about which Purple remarks: “DID you even color it?” and a rhombus covered with blue markings and slap the shapes onto a big, light-brown egg. Then the conversation turns to hiding the large object in plain sight. The joke doesn’t really work, the shapes are not clear enough for a concept book, and though colors are delineated, it’s not a very original color book. There’s a bit of clever repartee. When Purple observe that Esteban’s green rectangle isn’t an egg, Esteban responds, “No, but MY GOSH LOOK how magnificent it is!” Still, that won’t save this lackluster book, which barely scratches the surface of Easter, whether secular or religious. The multimedia illustrations, done in the same style as the other series entries, are always fun, but perhaps it’s time to retire these anthropomorphic coloring implements. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Let these crayons go back into their box. (Picture book. 3-5)