The words to this traditional children’s hymn serve as the text for a pleasant interpretation focusing on a family of three bears: a father, mother and child. The storyline begins with the father bear reading a children’s Bible with the little bear and continues throughout the family’s day as they garden, fish, bake and decorate Easter eggs. On several spreads the bears are shown hiking and singing the words of the song together, indicated by speech balloons. The general theme of love and caring for others is always apparent even on those pages where the words of the song aren’t directly related to the bears’ activities. Warnes provides engaging illustrations of the smiling bear family, with expressive faces and charming details such as a fiddle and a fishing hat for the father and a stuffed bunny for the child instead of a teddy bear. This reassuring version of a beloved Sunday-School standard provides an introductory context to the song for very young children, who will enjoy the cozy world of this anthropomorphic bear family. Music and guitar chords are included. (Picture book. 1-5)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2006
ISBN: 1-4169-0065-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An explicitly didactic introduction to major lessons in the Quran that some traditional Muslim families will welcome
In this introductory board book, Khan outlines lessons from the Quran in simple language for the very young.
The book begins with “The Qur’an tells us… / …in the beginning only Allah was,” followed by the creation of “the Heavens” and the Earth, and then the creatures that we see, such as animals and humans, and those we do not see, such as angels and “jinn.” The book describes the Quran as a book of instructions for life and goes on to explain some of those guidelines in broad strokes, such as being good to others and being thankful. The five pillars of Islam (worshiping only Allah, prayer, fasting, charity, and pilgrimage) are presented as what “Allah wants us” to do. Getting married and having “happy families” and children are included in what “Allah wants us” to do, an inclusion that seems a bit out of place in a list of major themes from the Quran. The illustrations use a cheerful, pink- and yellow-based palette, sprinkling them with stars and butterflies, in a playful drawing style. The people display a range of skin tones, and one spread depicts a person who uses a wheelchair. While the language is fairly basic, some terms, such as “thankful” and “hajj,” will require explanation.
An explicitly didactic introduction to major lessons in the Quran that some traditional Muslim families will welcome . (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-86037-618-7
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Kube Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
This book for the very young adds to the growing number of books on Islamic fasts and feasts, but in its simplicity it doesn’t supply very much in the way of information. The text starts off rhythmically: “We wait for the moon / we watch for the moon / we watch for the Ramadan moon,” but make little sense when it states “We fast by day / under the moon…” and becomes downright pedestrian as “We speak kind words / and stop bad habits / under the moon.” The pastels lend a special softness and serenity, glowing with intensity when it is really night and the moon is shown in its different phases throughout the lunar month of Ramadan, and the people depicted show some of the diversity of the American Muslim community. Most young readers, however, won’t understand that the people in the book are living through a month of fasting each day, and even the author’s note doesn’t provide adults with enough details to expand upon the text. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-8075-8304-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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