Will help alleviate fears and start kids thinking about ways to create their own KINDergartens.
While shy Leo wants no part of sharing ways to be kind aloud with his new kindergarten class, that doesn’t mean he isn’t kind.
Leo enjoys quiet activities and time with his extended family, so it’s only natural that he’s nervous about starting school. Luckily, Leo has the perfect teacher. Not only does she greet Leo personally and offer to help him get through his nervousness, but she also sets him up with new friends who also prefer quiet activities. Still, Leo, who wears a zipped-up jacket with the hood up, attempts to blend in and hopes Ms. Perry won’t call on him to contribute ideas to the Kindness Pledge the class is working on. But Leo and his kindness are certainly not invisible to his new classmates, who specifically call out the many ways he has been kind during the day. Suddenly, Leo feels ready for this new adventure called kindergarten, and his now-unzipped jacket and bare head reflect that confidence. The digitally painted illustrations are full of bright colors and familiar school scenes. An author’s note describes how to use the Kindness Pledge in classrooms, when it may be especially helpful, and reminds readers that it’s also important to be kind to yourself. Leo, his family, and Ms. Perry are brown-skinned, and Leo’s classmates are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Will help alleviate fears and start kids thinking about ways to create their own KINDergartens. (Kindness Pledge poster) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: June 21, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-48462-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House Studio
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
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PERSPECTIVES
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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