Instagram Facebook X-twitter Linkedin

Sign Up

Get the latest ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

All , Coverage

All Children's Coverage

Children's & YAPicture Book

Knight Owl

Review by Emmie Stuart

A tiny owl becomes an unexpected hero in Knight Owl, a tale of dreams, dragons and determination.

“Since the day he hatched, Owl had one wish. To be a knight.” Owl loves to envision himself armed with a sword and shield and bravely confronting a dragon. At Knight School, his hard work and resilience are rewarded, though the experience is not without challenges, including heavy swords and Owl’s “habit of nodding off during the day.”

After graduation, Owl takes a post on the Knight Night Watch. One night, a hungry dragon approaches the castle. Although he is frightened, Owl reminds himself that he is “a real knight and knights are brave.” He cleverly finds a way to transform his menacing foe into a memorable friend.

Knight Owl has all the ingredients for an old-fashioned tale of medieval gallantry. Owl’s blend of ambition and tender vulnerability will be instantly relatable to young children who, like Owl, live in a world designed for creatures much bigger than they are.

Suffused with luminous warmth, the jewel-tone illustrations by author-illustrator Christopher Denise are a visual feast. Denise intersperses full-bleed spreads depicting cozy interiors and starlit castle walls with humorous and poignant vignettes of Owl and his endearing knightly pursuits. Early on, Denise depicts Owl’s heroic aspirations in a style that evokes medieval tapestries, and whimsical details abound, such as a textbook held open to a chapter called “How to build knight stuff.” Effective shifts in perspective underscore Owl’s diminutive size as he stands watch on the castle’s high wall and, later, quakes under the looming gaze of the golden-eyed dragon.

In Tremendous Trifles, a 1909 collection of columns written by the English writer G.K. Chesterton and originally published in the Daily News, Chesterton memorably observed, “The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon.” In its own way, Knight Owl does this as well, demonstrating how dragons can be overcome through bravery, perseverance and kindness. And in Owl’s case, with a shared box of pizza.

In Christopher Denise’s Knight Owl, the titular hero cleverly transforms a menacing foe into a memorable friend using bravery, perseverance and kindness.
Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Worser

Review by Hannah Lamb

Jennifer Ziegler, best known for her Brewster Triplets series, introduces readers to a singularly memorable protagonist in Worser.

William Wyatt Orser, better known by his not-so-nice nickname, Worser, has had a rough go of it. His mother, a professor of rhetoric whom Worser considers one of his only intellectual equals, had a stroke three months ago that left her unable to speak. Since she’s not able to care for Worser on her own, Aunt Iris has moved in with them, disrupting Worser’s notions of peace and order.

Bullied at school and no longer able to find refuge at home, Worser dives even deeper into the world he loves best: the world of words. He spends his time working on his “Masterwork,” an epic collection of observations and musings on language that is his pride and joy. One entry explores what he dubs “Word Contradictions”: “If terrific can mean the opposite of terrible, why isn’t horrific the opposite of horrible?”

But letters and words can only go so far in satisfying the need for connection and companionship. Worser stumbles into just that when budget cuts force his school’s library to reduce its hours, setting off a chain of events that leads him to a group of kindred spirits who meet once a week in a nearby bookstore. For the first time, Worser begins to form meaningful and lasting connections with people who understand and appreciate him.

Worser is witty, sarcastic and often seems wise beyond his years. Although he sometimes behaves judgmentally toward those around him, he also possesses a charming awkwardness that will endear him to readers, and his character arc is satisfying. Outcasts and oddballs of all sorts will find Worser’s story relatable, and fellow word nerds will be especially thrilled by his thoughtful observations on the many eccentricities of the English language.

A true word nerd finds a group of kindred spirits in Jennifer Ziegler’s Worser, a middle grade novel anchored by a singularly memorable protagonist.
Children's & YAPicture Book

Courage Hats

Review by Julie Danielson

“Not everyone loves a train,” begins Kate Hoefler and Jessixa Bagley’s Courage Hats. Mae, carrying a small yellow suitcase, and Bear, with an old-fashioned knapsack across his shoulder, are both feeling anxious as they board a high-speed train. They don’t know each other yet, but they will.

Because she will be traveling “deep into bear places,” Mae has made a paper-bag headpiece to help her look more like a bear, with round ears and a brown nose. And because Bear will be venturing “deep into people places,” he has crafted a similar human-esque paper-bag hat. Each headpiece has a large hole that reveals Mae’s and Bear’s true faces, but to themselves and each other, they are utterly transformed.

Wearing their hats, Mae and Bear find seats next to each other on the train. Mae’s suitcase turns out to contain a tea set, while Bear’s polka-dotted knapsack holds sandwiches, crackers and cookies. Together, they enjoy a cozy spread as the train carries them on to a destination revealed on the book’s final page.

Bagley (Before I Leave) creatively extends Hoefler’s narrative, using eye-catching perspectives and presenting a world in which anthropomorphized woodland creatures and humans share spaces. The journey, not the destination, is the point of this rewarding story about finding courage via the gifts of friendship and abundant imagination.

Readers will especially appreciate Hoefler’s poetic and nuanced observations once Mae and Bear’s journey gets underway. There’s “a lot to notice” out the window of a train, Hoefler writes, such as “how a train carries the sky on its back.” Bagley illustrates this by depicting the new friends from behind as they take in the marvelous view of a golden meadow flanked by distant mountains. 

There’s gentle humor in Courage Hats as well, rooted in the contradictions between Hoefler’s text and Bagley’s images. When Mae first meets Bear, Hoefler (Real Cowboys) tells us that Mae has “found a big grown-up to sit with,” while Bagley depicts Bear (in his person hat) sitting next to the window of the train’s bench seat, arms crossed in his lap. Similarly, Bear is relieved to have “found a small cub to sit with.” Later, as Mae and Bear find comfort in each other’s presence, they both reflect that, if not for their newfound friendship, they “might have missed what was right next” to them.

Courage Hats is a satisfying story about facing your fears. After all, if you can’t find your courage, “you can wear it on your head at first.”

In Kate Hoefler and Jessixa Bagley’s imaginative Courage Hats, Mae and Bear discover unexpected bravery and friendship on a long train journey.
Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Words singing in her head

Review by bookpagedev

Have you heard any Spanish lately? It's not hard to do with a Spanish language radio station in almost every city of the country. Roughly one-fourth of the U.S. population speaks Spanish as their native tongue, and each year more and more elementary school students study the language. But it takes more than just speaking the language to be really in touch with Hispanic culture. Lynn Joseph's The Color of My Words is a moving story for middle-graders that captures many elements of the culture in the Dominican Republic: dancing the merengue, sitting up in a gri gri tree, eating huge plates of arroz con dulce (rice pudding), shopping at the colmado. Joseph paints a life that is lush and brightly colored in spite of serious economic deprivation.

The engrossing story painted on this Hispanic canvas will convince young readers that the urge to write can erupt anywhere. When we first meet the narrator, 12-year-old Ana Rosa Hernandez, she is washing clothes in the river with her mami, and confesses that she wants to become a writer. Although her mother warns her that it's better to keep things inside ("writers have died here"), Ana Rosa believes there always has to be a first person to do something. She begins filching little bits of paper to write her poems on: the paper sacks her papi buys his rum in; napkins; and finally her older brother Guario's notebook from the restaurant where he works. When she reads her story about a sea monster (a whale) she had watched from her perch in the gri gri, all is forgiven and her brother becomes the principal champion for her writing.

Each episode of the story coils more tightly. First, Ana Rosa is disappointed when her brother's handsome friend becomes infatuated with her older sister. Next she learns that she is illegitimate, and then "some big-mouth politician" tells the villagers that the government plans to buy their land. Guario becomes the leader of the opposition, and a violent street fight ends with terrible results for the Hernandez family.

In the end it is Ana Rosa's writing and her family's gift of a typewriter that restore her sense of wholeness. She knows she must write Guario's story for all to read, and "All the way home, words sing in my head." Joseph thanks the real-life Guario and all his family for their help in her author's note. Readers will want to thank Joseph for a terrific story.

Etta Wilson is a children's book enthusiast in Brentwood, Tennessee.

Have you heard any Spanish lately? It's not hard to do with a Spanish language radio station in almost every city of the country. Roughly one-fourth of the U.S. population speaks Spanish as their native tongue, and each year more and more elementary school students…

Children's & YAMiddle Grade

It’s the End of the World and I’m in My Bathing Suit

Review by Sharon Verbeten

What signs would portend the apocalypse for a tween boy? Twelve-year-old Eddie Holloway and his friends Xavier, Sonia, Trey and Sage think something might be amiss when the electricity in their neighborhood goes out and then their families don’t return from the annual Beach Bash party on Lake Erie.

Eddie’s day begins in mundane fashion. His mom grounds him after discovering that he hasn’t done his laundry in weeks, forcing him to stay home from their small Ohio town’s biggest party of the year. Even Eddie’s older brother, the Bronster (“Bronster is what happens when you mix equal parts brother + monster”), and their stepdad of six months, Calvin aka WBD (“Wanna-Be Dad”), can’t convince Eddie’s mom to free him from the drudgery and allow him to attend the celebration he’s looked forward to all year.

Clad in his sole piece of clean clothing—pink swim trunks printed with glow-in-the-dark pineapples—Eddie watches his family pile into the car and leave for the beach, then heads down to the basement to start making his way through 40 days’ worth of dirty laundry. But as the washing machine is filling up for his second load, the power goes out. Eddie discovers that he’s one of only five people in the entire neighborhood who aren’t at the Beach Bash, and as the hours pass and none of their families come back from the beach, it becomes clear that something is very, very wrong.

Young adult author Justin A. Reynolds’ first book for middle grade readers is propelled by Eddie’s hilarious stream-of-consciousness narration. Eddie frequently breaks the fourth wall to address the reader directly, and his storytelling is full of exclamations and asides, such as a three-page treatise titled “Eddie’s Unassailable Insights Into Why Laundry Is a Scam/Hoax/Con.” 

It’s the End of the World and I’m in My Bathing Suit isn’t all silliness, however. Eddie’s often-circuitous ramblings stem from his ADHD, which Reynolds depicts with thoughtful care. Just as empathetically crafted are Eddie’s reflections on the changes his family has experienced—his father’s death, his brother’s anger and his new stepdad’s efforts to find his own place within Eddie’s family structure.

Although the novel unfolds in just 24 hours, It’s the End of the World and I’m in My Bathing Suit ends on a cliffhanger that will leave readers begging for a sequel. Reynolds offers plenty of laughs as Eddie and his friends team up to save the world—or at least the neighborhood.

Propelled by hilarious stream-of-consciousness narration, Justin A. Reynolds’ It’s the End of the World and I’m in My Bathing Suit offers a fun tale of friends who team up to save the world—or at least the neighborhood.
Children's & YAPicture Book

Chester van Chime Who Forgot How to Rhyme

Review by Julie Danielson

Expect the giggles to begin from the opening endpapers of Chester van Chime Who Forgot How to Rhyme. They feature small drawings, and each illustration is accompanied by a pair of rhyming words. For example, a depiction of a green slug smiling on a fluffy green rug says “Slug Rug.”

The book itself is about poor Chester van Chime, who awakens one morning to discover that he has lost the ability to rhyme. Scattered across his bedroom are objects that evoke rhymes: The same slug from the endpapers smiles happily from a green rug next to Chester’s bed, and we see two toy ducks inside a blue toy truck. Despite all these visual clues, Chester simply can’t “match up two sounds.”

Author Avery Monsen presents a text filled with rhyming couplets that fall flat on their poetic faces. “He tried not to panic. He played it real cool / and picked up his backpack and walked to his . . . / . . . learning place with teachers and stuff.” Adults, welcome to your next Best Storytime Book.

Abby Hanlon, illustrator of the side-splittingly funny Dory Fantasmagory chapter book series, brings her playful sensibilities to these vivid tableaux. Her spreads teem with rhyming pairs. Owls decorate Chester’s bathroom towel; a pup smiles from the cup on his sink; a fox steals a sock while Chester’s getting dressed; and can you guess what winged mammal appears on his doormat? As Chester’s frustrations over his failures escalate, so do the visuals. Chester’s classroom devolves into chaos as his classmates try to resuscitate his rhyming acumen.

Chester walks home from school in despair, but he soon realizes that everyone has off days and no one can be perfect all the time. Besides, by day’s end, Chester can rhyme again—for the most part. And remember those winning opening endpapers? The book’s closing endpapers feature an entirely new but equally delightful set of drawings.

It’s a must-read, a hit, a guaranteed good time. If only more books were like Chester van . . . what was his name again?

Poor Chester van Chime may have lost the ability to rhyme, but young readers will lose themselves to giggles at this book’s delightfully unsuccessful couplets.
Children's & YAMiddle Grade

A Duet for Home

Review by Norah Piehl

Eleven-year-old June Yang feels like bad luck follows her family everywhere. First her dad, a bicycle delivery driver, was killed in a tragic street accident. Then her mom, consumed by grief and depression, withdrew from the world, lost her job and June became the de facto caregiver for her 6-year-old sister, Maybelle. And now June’s family has been evicted from their Chinatown apartment and relocated to Huey House, a shelter in the South Bronx for families experiencing homelessness.

At first, everything at Huey House seems strange and disorienting, including the hourslong bus ride to school and the practical jokes played by longtime shelter residents Tyrell and Jeremiah. The final straw is the news that June can’t play her beloved viola at the shelter. But June quickly starts to see how the shelter’s residents help one another and how kindness can manifest in surprising ways. And she discovers that Tyrell, whose brash exterior belies a sensitive heart, a fear of abandonment and a love for classical music, might share some of the same dreams that she does.

Author Karina Yan Glaser is beloved for her critically acclaimed middle grade series about the Vanderbeekers, a large and loving family in Harlem. As she does in those books, Glaser infuses this standalone novel with sweetness and optimism (softhearted Maybelle and her overwhelming love for dogs and other animals is especially appealing) while acknowledging the complexities of her characters’ lives.

In an author’s note that opens the book, Glaser describes how the seeds of A Duet for Home were planted when she worked at a family housing shelter similar to Huey House 20 years ago. She incorporates a real-life policy initiative—a drive to quickly rehouse families experiencing homelessness in inadequate, unsafe facilities without sufficient support systems—into the novel as well. Within the story, Glaser brilliantly illustrates the drawbacks of this policy from a child’s point of view and shows the power of political action through her characters’ responses.

June and Tyrell are memorable and inspiring protagonists, and Glaser surrounds them with a cast of well-developed secondary characters. In addition to Maybelle and Jeremiah, there are also supportive grown-ups such as Ms. Gonzalez (aka Ms. G), the bighearted social worker who knows every resident’s favorite food so she can surprise them with their favorite dishes, and Domenika, the lovably prickly viola teacher next door.

As its title suggests, A Duet for Home is also suffused with music. Glaser even helpfully provides a list of all the compositions referenced throughout at the end of the novel. A Duet for Home portrays how an appreciation for music and a desire to make the world more beautiful can give all young people—and perhaps especially the most vulnerable—a way to believe in themselves.

Karina Yan Glaser infuses A Duet for Home with sweetness and optimism while acknowledging the complexities of her characters’ lives.
Children's & YAPicture Book

Abdul’s Story

Review by Jill Lorenzini

Abdul likes straight lines and a good story. But at school, Abdul struggles to keep his “scribbly, scratchy, scrawly letters” within the lines of his paper. And spelling? It’s downright impossible. “Some stories are for books,” Abdul thinks, “but not his.” When a writer named Mr. Muhammad visits Abdul’s class, he encourages Abdul to embrace his “mess,” and Abdul realizes that a good story might come from his messy writing after all.

Abdul’s Story is an honest, encouraging depiction of a boy with a learning disability and the power of finding your story. Author Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow candidly portrays Abdul’s emotions and challenges. She captures the way his inability to write “neat sentences” leads to both feelings of failure and a sense of determination. Her narration is well balanced and invites the reader inside Abdul’s experience. Her text describes Abdul’s difficulties without specifically labeling them, so readers with a wide range of learning disabilities will be able to identify with him.

The book’s illustrations by Tiffany Rose are lively and optimistic, filled with friendly lines and details that round out the story without overwhelming the eye. Bright background colors and scenes of Abdul’s bustling neighborhood and cheerful classroom contribute to an overall sense of approachability and welcome. At one point, Abdul writes and erases so many times that he tears a hole in his paper. Ashamed, he hides under his desk and imagines “an eraser big enough to erase himself.” Rose poignantly brings this sequence to life. As Abdul crouches under the table, his eyes downcast and arms wrapped around his knees, the eraser of a giant yellow pencil has already smudged out his hands and feet.

In a picture book that centers on a character with a learning disability, different typographical choices—particularly on pages where text appears on a colored background opposite an illustration—would have increased readability for dyslexic readers. One widely cited study by Luz Rello and Ricardo Baeza-Yates, for example, suggests that dyslexic readers may find sans serif typefaces easier to read, while Abdul’s Story’s text is set in Absara, a humanist slab serif font.

In a world that can often be inaccessible, Abdul’s Story is an example of the power of casting a child with a learning disability in a starring role. As we witness Abdul working hard to improve his story, we’re reminded that very few things are ever perfect on the first try, but it’s in the trying that we eventually find success.

Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow and Tiffany Rose's Abdul’s Story is an honest, encouraging depiction of a boy with a learning disability and the power of finding your story.
Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Sort of Super

Review by Kevin Delecki

For many kids, it would be the ultimate dream come true: to unexpectedly gain superpowers and be able to save the world! Unless, of course, your dad won’t let you.

In Sort of Super, the debut graphic novel by Eric Gapstur, 11-year-old Wyatt Flynn was covered in glowing space dust, doused with nuclear waste and electrocuted—all during a rapid sequence of accidents on “Bring Your Kids to Work Day.” Now he has a ton of amazing abilities, including flight, superspeed, superstrength, super tough skin and invisibility. He also has an overprotective father who will under no circumstances allow Wyatt to be a superhero until he’s at least 36 years old.

After Wyatt, his little sister, Adeline, and their father move in with Wyatt’s grandmother, Wyatt must navigate the ordinary challenges of a new school year while concealing the fact that he’s now, well, a pretty extraordinary kid. It all goes (mostly) smoothly at first, but when animals in town begin mysteriously disappearing, Wyatt enlists the help of un-superpowered but extremely smart Adeline to discover who has been stealing them and why.

Filled with over-the-top action and slapstick humor, Sort of Super is a fantastic graphic novel for younger middle grade readers. Perfect for kids who have moved on from Captain Underpants and Dog Man but are not yet ready for Marvel, DC and other adult superhero comics, Sort of Super introduces many tropes of the genre (hidden identities, secret villains, sidekicks who are better prepared than the superhero, expansive universes) without being trite or condescending toward the reader.

Wyatt and Adeline succeed because of their strength of character and their trust and belief in each other, and Gapstur surrounds them with wonderfully supportive adults. His art is bold and colorful, and it perfectly complements his storytelling and on-point dialogue. Sort of Super is a funny, engaging book that will leave readers eager for more adventures with Wyatt, Adeline and their extraordinary family.

Filled with over-the-top action and slapstick humor, Eric Gapstur’s Sort of Super is a fantastic graphic novel for younger middle grade readers.
Children's & YAPicture Book

Review

Review by bookpagedev

Leap for joy! Whistle and stretch, curl up and cuddle, wriggle and laugh with your favorite child. Judy Hindley’s latest book is a tickly, giggly delight for parents and preschoolers. Her text, peppered with rhyme, along with Brita Granstrom’s lively illustrations, invite readers to identify body parts and then get up and use them in play. It’s great fun for the preschool set, and will have them moving, learning, and laughing.

A crew of friendly children demonstrates some of the amusing things kids (and grown-ups) can do with their bodies. Their smiles are contagious: Feel how it makes/your belly go/when you laugh /Ha-ha! /Hee-hee! /Ho-ho! Young children will have a blast imitating the moves: counting off fingers and toes, kissing, bending, bumping, and stomping. The acting and interacting opportunities are irresistible: A mouth is to yawn;/Open wide /See all the teeth and the tongue inside? And even grown-ups will find themselves hamming it up: A tongue is to talk/and to sing La-la! /La-la, /la-la, /la-la! The words lend themselves so effortlessly to imaginative and enthusiastic readings that even a distracted, grumpy three-year-old may be persuaded to listen and join in.

Says Hindley, This is a book to play with. I hope it encourages children to express and celebrate the sheer delight of owning a body. It certainly does, and in a refreshingly uninhibited, cheerfully goofy way.

Granstrom’s good-natured children romp through rooms at home and play outside. Her scenes are full of activity, with a few quiet moments as well. Backgrounds are in a single muted color, with simple line-drawn details, which allow the bright, bouncy kids to really shine without being overwhelmed. The words themselves are visually appealing. There is plenty of variation in letter sizes and a playful disregard of margin alignment. Beginning readers will enjoy picking out letters in the super-sized words sprinkled throughout: Peek-a-boo! , Hooray! , Bump! Eyes, Nose, Fingers, and Toes is a warm book that celebrates the exuberance toddlers feel as they play. Read this book with a child you love, and get carried away together with the silliness and joy of it all.

Julie Anderson writes from Bell Buckle, Tennessee.

Leap for joy! Whistle and stretch, curl up and cuddle, wriggle and laugh with your favorite child. Judy Hindley's latest book is a tickly, giggly delight for parents and preschoolers. Her text, peppered with rhyme, along with Brita Granstrom's lively illustrations, invite readers to identify…
Children's & YAPicture Book

Review

Review by bookpagedev

Laurent de Brunhoff still reigns over his royal legacy It’s been seven years since we’ve seen a new story involving Babar, the king of the elephants. Before his untimely death in 1937, French artist Jean de Brunhoff turned a family bedtime story into an international favorite when he wrote and illustrated the original The Story of Babar in 1931 and followed it with six more Babar books. The eldest of Jean’s three sons, Laurent, carried on the adventure of Babar and has since published over 30 Babar stories which have been translated into 17 languages and sold millions of copies all over the world. The stories have influenced the imaginations of generations as they turned the colorful pages and learned more about these adventurous and fashionable elephants who walk upright, wear glasses and hats, drive cars, raise children, and exist in their own world with humans as if there were no barriers. Now Babar, his family, and the wise old Cornelius are back in a new adventure from the imagination of Laurent de Brunhoff called Babar and the Succotash Bird. The new book is about Babar’s son, Alexander, who meets a magician bird, a Succotash bird, who shows the young elephant tricks and captures his imagination. But unfortunately for Alexander, there are two types of Succotash birds, good and bad, and the story illustrates the consequences when one is confused for another during a family hiking trip to the mountains. Laurent’s signature bright watercolors and interesting mix of elephant and human characteristics are as entertaining as ever. “You know, it may happen in conversation, but when I have an idea it is so visual sometimes,” said Laurent from his part-time home in New York City. “When I travel somewhere I want to use what I’ve seen, but Babar doesn’t go there, it’s just used in the Babar world,” he explained. “This time for the new book, I really wanted to have some magic, because in all the other Babar books there is no magic really, it’s very real the life they have. That’s why I wanted a magician. And since I like birds, this magician is a bird, a Succotash bird. In fact my wife (writer, Phyllis Rose) invented it. I had only some noise for him, and she said, oh, it sounds like succotash! I thought it was very funny and thought it was a very good idea.” The release of the new book will mark several important milestones in de Brunhoff’s work and life. The man behind Babar turns 75 in August, and a switch in publishers will bring the reissuing of all Laurent’s classic Babar stories, some of which have also been turned into an animated series for HBO. Laurent admits that going seven years without another Babar story has been unusual for him, but it has given him time to concentrate on other artistic pursuits as well as traveling and hiking, particularly in the American West. “I really wanted to put the elephant a little bit on the side and spend more time with my old painting,” he said. “I like to do abstract watercolors. I like the medium of watercolors but I like to do some large paintings, which are abstract; even if they are inspired by the sea and the sky, they are abstract. I started to learn how to paint in an academy in Paris and I switched very early to abstract painting in the ’50s. I showed my paintings at that time on different occasions, but after 10 or 15 years I was so busy with the books it was too difficult to keep the two worlds together, and little by little I dropped painting. It’s hardly 10 years ago I started again to paint, and I must say I’m happy with that.” At a show for his abstract paintings a few years back at the Mary Ryan Gallery on 57th Street in New York, (where the original artwork for the new book will be exhibited this fall) Laurent said it was amusing to see the reactions of people who anticipated that his works would mirror the Babar stories. “It was well received I must say; still people are expecting me to draw elephants so they are a bit surprised when they see these abstract paintings.” Laurent said the idea for the new book came to him quickly during a time when he had been hiking and camping in the High Sierras of Yosemite National Park. “Suddenly I had an idea for this book, and it was very fast, it came very strongly in my mind, very precisely. Some pictures you will see the landscape is inspired by the American West, some of the canyon lands, and some of Yosemite,” he said.

Today Laurent’s family consists of a son, daughter, and grandson who live in Paris, as well as his two brothers whom he is very close to, and his beloved mother, Cecile, the original creator of the character of Babar 70 years ago. Like Laurent and his brothers, his children grew up with Babar, yet as far as his children continuing the Babar legacy, Laurent says the experience has been different for them. “You know I was 12 years old when my father died, so there was this emptiness . . . we missed Babar. But I’m still alive, and they’ve already started their own lives. So I don’t think suddenly, when I am no longer on this world, they will take over.” Regardless, the release of Babar and the Succotash Bird, subsequent reissuing of the Babar backlist, HBO animated series, and other promotional campaigns currently in the works continue to share a family gift sure to endure for generations.

Laurent de Brunhoff still reigns over his royal legacy It's been seven years since we've seen a new story involving Babar, the king of the elephants. Before his untimely death in 1937, French artist Jean de Brunhoff turned a family bedtime story into an international…
Children's & YAPicture Book

Review

Review by bookpagedev

Change. It’s hard to deal with at any age, but it is especially difficult for young children. In Shadow, by Jill Newsome, Rosy and her family move to a new house, far from her friends, her school, and everything familiar. Suddenly her world is turned upside down. In fact, life becomes pretty miserable for poor Rosy. Any child in a turbulent situation can empathize: sometimes everything feels just plain wrong, which can make for a cranky existence. Fortunately this state of misery never lasts forever. For Rosy, things start to look up when she walks home from school one snowy day and finds an injured rabbit in the woods. She and her family adopt the rabbit and nurse it back to health. It quickly becomes Rosy’s first new friend, following her everywhere and earning it the name Shadow. But life is never easy, and no good story is that simple. One day Shadow disappears, and Rosy is again distraught until a girl from her new school brings Shadow home in a box. Now Rosy has a second new friend to play with, and life is a lot more, well, rosy! Shadow is extremely effective in its simplicity. In very few words, Newsome is able to communicate the pain of childhood loneliness and sadness. Her lyrical text is nicely complemented by the watercolor illustrations of her husband, Claudio Munoz, who has illustrated several children’s books including Man Mountain, Little Captain, and Come Back Grandma. Munoz’s stormy paintings deftly convey the anger and fear Rosy feels towards her strange new world, and later her pleasure in companionship. With such sparse text, Munoz’s pictures are essential to the overall mood of the book. Shadow reminds us all that change is indeed scary, but that with time and patience things ultimately work out in the end. Rosy learns that once you make new friends, life is a lot less threatening. These are simple truisms, but valuable ones that apply to children of all ages.

Lisa Horak is a freelance writer and full-time mother.

Change. It's hard to deal with at any age, but it is especially difficult for young children. In Shadow, by Jill Newsome, Rosy and her family move to a new house, far from her friends, her school, and everything familiar. Suddenly her world is turned…
Children's & YAPicture Book

Review

Review by bookpagedev

Just in time for the school season, Kevin Henkes introduces a sweet mouse-child about to face the first grade in Wemberly Worried. The master of memorable mice characters, Henkes also gave us the much-loved Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, a children’s classic that won an ABBY Award.

The opposite of the energetic, outgoing Lilly, Wemberly is Henkes’s creation of a delicate and sensitive young mouse who worries about everything. Nothing is too big or too small to escape Wemberly’s worry. Day and night she worries. In bed, on the playground, or in the car, Wemberly worries. But by far her biggest worry is starting school. With the momentous first day looming, a multitude of new worries fills Wemberly. And this time the list of “what if’s” is a mile long.

Broaching a serious topic, Henkes explains Wemberly’s fears in a way children can relate to; he finds the sensitive spots that traumatize most children and deftly relates them with a touch of humor in his text and illustrations. And it’s his humor and eye for detail that make this serious story fun, including a rollerblading Grandma who espouses, “Worry, worry, worry. Too much worry.” Finally, the big day arrives. A caring teacher introduces Wemberly to another young mouse, who also happens to be wearing stripes and holding a doll. Wemberly’s worries aren’t cured instantly, but she and her new friend can’t wait for the second day of school.

With his colorful illustrations, Henkes creates a sweet, fragile little girl in Wemberly. His artwork isn’t just pleasing to look at, it conveys just as much as the text. Henkes communicates a wealth of emotion with facial expressions in the sharp drawings. You can see the hesitation in Wemberly’s eyes and the distress in her tiny frame.

Until they create a first grader’s version of How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, stick with Wemberly to help your youngsters address their fears about starting school.

Just in time for the school season, Kevin Henkes introduces a sweet mouse-child about to face the first grade in Wemberly Worried. The master of memorable mice characters, Henkes also gave us the much-loved Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, a children's classic that won an ABBY…

Sign Up

Stay on top of new releases: Sign up for our newsletter to receive reading recommendations in your favorite genres.

Sign up now

Recent Reviews

All Reviews

Author Interviews

More Interviews

Recent Features

All Features