Publisher's Hardcover ©2021 | -- |
Friendship. Juvenile fiction.
Friendship. Fiction.
First day of school. Juvenile fiction.
First day of school. Fiction.
Individuality. Juvenile fiction.
Individuality. Fiction.
The same team that produced A Family Is a Family Is a Family (2016) returns with a celebration of diversity and inclusion on the playground and in the community. What are the important things kids really want to talk about? Not "Are you a boy or a girl?" but rather, "What big words can you spell?" Not "Where do you come from?" but, "Ask me about my grandmother's house." The story finishes comfortably with the most important and favorite question: "Hey, kid, do you want to play?" Emphasizing what kids really care about rather than making them field divisive inquiries, this sees children celebrating their pride in an exceptional shirt, with a pet's goofy name, and through a love of reading, an unusual lunch, and the joys of friendship. Illustrated in fine-lined drawings and watercolors, the funky and droll children (no adults here) sport wild styles, active postures, and creative antics to make their point. The joyful pictures and intriguing questions will certainly inspire spirited discussion.
Horn Book (Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2021)This follow-up to A Family Is a Family Is a Family brings us to school. "Being the new kid is hard," states a dark-haired child approaching a school building. In response to a question we infer has been asked by a second child, the newcomer asserts, "I can think of better things to ask than if I'm a boy or a girl." One by one, others chime in with what they wish others would ask them. A petite boy wishes people would ask him about the big words he can spell instead of about his small size. A child with a prosthetic leg exclaims, "Ask me what I can do, not what I can't!" -- and an illustration shows that child standing triumphantly atop a rocky hill, arms stretched high in victory. Each full-bleed spread splits the speaker's perspective in two: on the verso, we see the child joining a growing playground group while the recto gives a peek into their life in class or outside the school gates. With a Quentin Blake-esque liveliness to her lines, Leng's watercolor and ink illustrations capture the intimate details of young children's lives and dreams. At last, the dark-haired "new kid" shares a question that every child wants to be asked: "Hey kid, do you want to play?" With a unanimous spirit of inclusion within its pages, the story urges readers to rethink the way they first encounter others -- by starting with an invitation. Grace McKinney
Kirkus ReviewsThere's a new kid at school, and they're tired of being asked all the wrong questions.Who cares if they identify as a boy or a girl? After the new student voices their concerns, other students join in to share the questions they've been asked. One student is asked about their small size, for example, when they'd rather be asked about their prowess at spelling. Another is asked where she comes from when clearly where she currently lives is her home. Still another, who has a prosthetic leg, is asked what they can't do rather than what they can do. Kid after kid voices the questions they wish they were asked. The text is a clever and heartfelt ode to children who challenge everything including xenophobia, ableism, and the gender binary, and the illustrations feature a diverse array of skin colors and hair textures, communicating racial and ethnic diversity. The author's inclusion of more mundane examples of difference-like, for example, a White child who loves to read-is clearly meant to communicate that all children are unique in their own way. Unfortunately, these examples detract from the book's message about challenging oppressive systems of power: Being asked about one's reading habits is, after all, not at all equivalent to being harassed for being gender nonbinary, for being an immigrant, or for being disabled. (This book was reviewed digitally.)A heartwarming but not revolutionary book about inclusion. (Picture book. 4-7)
ALA Booklist
Horn Book (Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2021)
Kirkus Reviews
In this companion to the enormously popular A Family Is a Family Is a Family, a group of kids share the silly questions they always hear, as well as the questions they would rather be asked about themselves. Being the new kid is hard, a child in the school playground tells us. I can think of better things to ask than if I'm a boy or a girl. Another child comes along and says she gets asked why she always has her nose in a book. Someone else gets asked where they come from. One after another, children share the questions they're tired of being asked again and again -- as opposed to what they believe are the most important or interesting things about themselves. As they move around the playground, picking up new friends along the way, there is a feeling of understanding and acceptance among them. And in the end, the new kid comes up with the question they would definitely all like to hear: "Hey kid, want to play?" Sara O'Leary's thoughtful text and Qin Leng's expressive illustrations tell a story about children who are all different, all themselves, all just kids. Key Text Features dialogue Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.6 Identify who is telling the story at various points in a text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7 Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.6 Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.7 Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.7 Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting)