(2) PS Illustrated by Hyewon Yum. Not Little (rev. 9/21) protagonist Dot is not happy about not being perfect. While her multiracial family members excel at their endeavors (sister is an artist, twin brothers are spelling bee champs, Mom has a black belt, Dad sings in a band, and: "Even my cat is perfect"), Dot bakes lopsided cupcakes, kicks too-wide goals, and plays wrong notes on the piano. At school, her best friend, Sam, shines in tidiness and rule-following, and Dot chooses him for her "person we admire" project. Frustration grows and self-esteem plummets as her portrait of Sam doesn't match what's in her head. She rips up her drawing, storms outside, angry-jumps on a trampoline, then dries her tears, gets back to work -- and arrives at a perfectly imperfect solution. This second book about Dot gives the realistic-seeming child plenty of support from nonjudgmental adults, providing time and space to solve her own problems -- and without the pressure of perfection. Spare colored-pencil illustrations with lots of white space are particularly good at reflecting Dot's feelings, from eager and hopeful to self-conscious, mad, and sad, to relaxed, contented, and proud. "'I made a lot of mistakes. It was really hard.' 'But you did it,' [Sam] says. 'That's true.' I did a little bounce of happiness. 'I did.'"

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2024

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Hyewon Yum. This collection of variously contemplative and playful poems offers an intimate picture of daily life from a child's point of view. Thirty-four poems about "Home," "Street," and "Town" explore the ever-widening circle of a child's awareness of community. Various poets capture the rhythm of life inside and out, on the weekend and at bedtime, and through the seasons beginning with X. J. Kennedy's "Any old place / that's your home base / is where you want to be." The collection then heads out into the world with pets, parks, and parties and around town with school, stores, laundromats, and car washes. With its mix of classic works by such poets as Eleanor Farjeon, Myra Cohn Livingston, and Valerie Worth and more contemporary voices including Irene Latham, Janet Wong, and Naomi Shihab Nye, the collection offers a mix of poetic styles--all very accessible to the reader and listener and all unified by Yum's engaging illustrations in colored pencil and watercolor. Scenes ranging from urban apartment life to small-town backyards and front porches are full of a pleasing diversity of children and adults.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Hyewon Yum. With loads of age-appropriate melodrama, a young girl laments all the bad things that happen on a bad day, starting with "Too Much Milk in My Cereal." Late to school ("always rushing, hurry, hustling"), she falls and gets a boo-boo, then someone cuts the line at school ("that spot was mine, Sylvester Pine!"), she gets the hiccups, and she must eat a boring lunch (because, of course, the pudding cup was left at home). After school is no better: a boring trip to the market ("A chore at the store? I fall to the floor!"), slimy spaghetti for dinner, and the discovery of a noisy cricket in her room at bedtime (amusingly ironic, as the cricket has discreetly followed her all day long). Wallace's cleverly written ode is well complemented by Yum's (Grandpa Across the Ocean, rev. 7/21) familiar colored-pencil art in which the girl's big feelings are conveyed through exaggerated facial expressions and the extreme body language of a young drama queen (down on one knee, weeping in the store; an actual face-plant into her plate of spaghetti). While good at complaining, this girl is also unexpectedly good at turning things around (so far, she's seemed as inflexible as her stiff pink tutu). As she's tucked into bed, she philosophically notes that "a better day is on its way"--one in which "lines are led by me," "pudding's all I eat," and "chores feel like a ride." Not a bad ending to a full-on bad day.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(2) PS Illustrated by Hyewon Yum. While adults attend an ESL class, their children go to a playroom next door. The room is full but quiet; no one speaks the same language, and all the kids play separately. On a recent visit, young Luli had drawn a picture about an idea she had, and today her backpack holds a ­thermos, a teapot, a tea canister, and some teacups. As Miss Hirokane watches, Luli puts some tea leaves in the pot and pours in the "steaming hot" water, her tongue sticking out in careful concentration. She calls "cha!" (Chinese for tea), and everyone responds with their own words for tea (each word is spelled out and printed phonetically). All gather at the table, where Luli pours tea into cups that get passed around. When there isn't enough left for herself, the kids pass her empty cup around, each pouring in a little tea from their own. After tea it's time for cookies, and with that, "the playroom was no longer quiet." Tea drinking everywhere celebrates community and togetherness; Wang (Watercress, rev. 3/21) has cleverly recreated (and diversified) that ritual in a microcosm. Yum's (Saturday Is Swimming Day[cf], rev. 7/18) overhead view of the table shows smiling faces and varied skin tones, and her illustrations make clear that the Asian teacups with no handles are perfect for small hands--and safe (if it's cool enough to hold, it's cool enough to drink). An appended note describes tea drinking in the ten countries represented, including Iran, Kenya, and Chile, while teacups from each country decorate the endpapers.