August 25, 2014
It may be Thanksgiving, but a girl named Emily Ann is feeling downright Grinchlike: “There was food to be cooked/ and chores to be done./ With everyone busy/ there was no time for fun.” Emily is just about to “play a funny trick”—hiding the turkey—when her mother mistakes her mischief for helpfulness. That compliment, along with seeing her homemade place mats on the table and her large family gathered together, are enough make Emily Ann realize, “They really didn’t matter,/ all her Thanksgiving woes.” Brantley-Newton’s exude holiday bustle and family warmth, which help carry the story through a few verbal contortions created in pursuit of a rhyme. Ages 3–5. Illustrator’s agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words.
July 15, 2014
A kid's perspective on Thanksgiving Day points out all the inconveniences of the holiday.Emily Ann counts her woes instead of her blessings on this particular Thanksgiving: Her brother's mean, her sister's interested only in makeup and magazines, everyone is too busy with preparations to play with her, and visiting, snoring Grandpa takes her bed, relegating her to the floor. So, the devious Emily Ann decides to play a prank that will get everyone's attention. Just as she is enacting her plan, a comment from her mother about what she perceives as Emily Ann's helpfulness unrealistically causes a complete turnabout in Emily Ann's attitude. "And there in that room, / Emily Ann saw the truth. / Her family had come together; / from Uncle Mark to little Ruth....And she was a piece of it, / from her top to her toes. // They really didn't matter, all her Thanksgiving woes." Johnston's verses sometimes sacrifice ease of reading for the rhyme scheme and meter, but the shortness of the text is good for younger listeners. Brantley-Newton's illustrations capture the familiar sights of a family Thanksgiving, though Emily Ann's facial expressions are rather static.While there are few books that even mention kids' complaints about the November holiday, the majority of Thanksgiving-themed books address gratitude much more meaningfully (and realistically). (Picture book. 3-5)
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June 1, 2014
PreS-Gr 1-Poor Emily Ann. It's Thanksgiving, and she is feeling decidedly unthankful. Her older brother and sister ignore her, and her parents and grandparents are busy with meal preparations. Although her ever-present dog offers sympathetic companionship, Emily Ann, is feeling sad and alone and decides to hide the roast turkey. Fortunately, before she has time to carry out her naughty plan, her mother ushers her into an empty dining room, where Emily Ann is consoled by the sight of her prize-winning place mats and a gaggle of relatives who suddenly appear. Told in rhyme that occasionally feels as forced as the trite message, Thanksgiving for Emily Ann is a missed opportunity to recognize a child's honest experience of the holiday. The mixed-media and digital artwork has a homey, vintage feel, but the otherwise engaging illustrations are marred by the lack of consistency with the fatuous text.-Lynn Van Auken, Oak Bluffs School, Oak Bluffs, MA
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