PICTURE BOOK REVIEWS : The Boy Who Loved Everyone by Jane Porter & Over the Shop by JonArno Lawson
REVIEW
Dimitri cares about the people around him and he tells them so by saying, "I love you." But Liam doesn't know how to respond. Sophie, Stella, and Sue giggle and flee. Adult readers will quickly realize that Dimitri's open declarations are making some of the people around him uncomfortable. The tree and ants don't reply at all. Dimitri keeps saying "I love you" all day to a wide variety of people, animals, and materials. As the day wears on, Dimitri's spirits get lower and lower as the day wears on until he finally gets a response from his mother at bedtime. He doesn't want to go to preschool the next day because nobody seemed to care about him in return. He mother gently explains that people show caring in a variety of ways. And that caring expressed spreads and grows. On the way to school, Dimitri and his mother spot some of the people that Dimitri interacted with the previous day showing love. This sweet story demonstrates the power of love and caring in the world, whether expressed verbally or through one's actions. Adult readers will quickly realize that Dimitri's open declarations are making some of the people around him uncomfortable. This makes the story a great way to share with children the importance of social cues. While the book is a bit wordy for a read aloud, it's a beautiful story both textually and visually.
REVIEW
A young girl and her grandparent run a small general store. In an effort to rent the space above the store, a sign in placed in the window. But the apartment isn't in good shape and visitor after visitor leave in a hurry. Finally, a young biracial couple arrive and take the apartment. This lovely wordless tale follows the couple as they fix up the place. But not only do they fix up the apartment, they bring cheerfulness and friendliness into the lives of the girl, her grandparent, and their neighbor. Some of the illustrations are fairly small making this a hard book to share with a group, but it's a cozy read for a child or adult and child. The illustrations are expressive and lovely with lots of details to look t and enjoy.
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