A Year of Everyday Wonders

by Cheryl B. Klein, Qin Leng (Illustrator)

Overview

From first haircut to first ice-cream cone, each year brings a new cycle of experiences

With each new year come countless little wonders. From the highs—first snowfall, first new
umbrella, first beach trip—to the lows—first missed bus, first lost umbrella, first sunburn—
every year older means another cycle of everyday experiences.
In their clever, playful, observant picture book, acclaimed author Cheryl B. Klein and illustrator Qin Leng explore many truths of childhood through a calendar year of small moments that, all together, comprise what it is to be a kid.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419742088
Publisher:	Abrams Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	12/08/2020
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	461,564
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Cheryl B. Klein loves celebrating firsts year-round, especially her first day without a jacket in spring, her first ice-cream cone of summer, and the first blanket on her bed in fall. Wings, her debut picture book, illustrated by Tomie dePaola, received two starred reviews. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Editorial Reviews

★ 10/26/2020

Klein (Thunder Trucks) records a year in the life of a child in “firsts”: quiet, unassuming anniversaries that will be instantly recognizable to readers young and old. “First day of the new year,” she starts, as sweet but never saccharine ink-and-wash panels by Leng (Over the Shop) follow a young child and older brother through the morning: “First wake-up// First waffles/ First fight with your brother.” (The brother lets loose a mischievous waffle missile.) Leng dwells on domestic comforts: pots of jam, hot chocolate and blankets, books and plants, attentive parents. Some of the firsts originate in the natural world (“first summer storm”), while others are part of the human world (“first family reunion”). There are bumps along the way: umbrellas new and lost, a familiar tally of sibling tensions (“Ninety-seventh fight with your brother”). Understated, telegraphic humor enlivens throughout, as when the child tries experimenting with scissors in front of the bathroom mirror (“first haircut”) and receives a professional touch-up afterward (“second haircut”). Klein’s touch is light and Leng’s movement-filled vignettes are harmonious as they capture the year in an album whose joys and disappointments become a cyclical, cumulative string of memories. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Brianne Johnson, Writers House. Illustrator’s agent: Justin Rucker, Shannon Assoc. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

**STARRED REVIEW**
"The cyclical aspect makes for a pleasing bedtime story wind-down as the year closes, but this is also a creative way to talk about time and, maybe, to explain how long it is until a months-away yearned-for event."

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

★ 12/01/2020

K-Gr 2—Young elementary readers and budding artists will be drawn to this story of family life, filled with a young girl's memories of "firsts" throughout the course of a year. Leng's effortless watercolor and ink illustrations pair with Klein's spare words on every page, showing the significance of everyday moments as the young girl grows and spends time with her family. The playful, delicate lines and light textures of the colorful illustrations shine in the purposeful absence of descriptive text or sentences, as each gesture and detail drawn gains weighty meaning in its representation of the named moment. Simple curved lines and light washes of color exhibit finesse and serenity in the composition, while the text settles neatly above or beside the scene captured. Not every moment depicts a time of happiness, but the story is made all the stronger as it demonstrates how life is made of many memories including those ordinary disappointments or frustrations, like lost umbrellas and sibling rivalry. Scenes are paired at times to humorous effect, which children will find easily relatable. VERDICT Through detailed visual elements, this quietly delightful picture book speaks to the potential treasure of small moments in childhood.—Rachel Mulligan, Pennsylvania State Univ.

School Library Journal

2020-10-27
A collage of new experiences right from the first of the year.

A young girl with beige skin and straight, brown hair wakes up to the first day of the new year. Thus follows a parade of the year’s firsts—waffles, new umbrella, snowfall, fight with her brother (a recurring theme that compounds exponentially as the year goes on), and more. Klein’s simple, understated text effectively and poignantly paints a world of hilarity mixed with drama (“First crush”; “First missed bus”; “Second lost umbrella”). Shown in both vignettes and full-page art, Leng’s soft watercolor palette is punctuated by the characters’ evocative expressions that add to the emotional depth of the book. While books about the seasons are a familiar sight on shelves, this fresh twist offers young readers a glimpse of important moments in a child’s year—moments that add up to a wealth of experience and anticipation of firsts still to come. At times, the “first” motif slips slightly. These experiences are meant to occur within one year, so readers may wonder at “First giving” and “First getting” at the end of the year in winter (no birthdays?); or, for that matter, more than one mask (“First new mask”) at Halloween. However these are minor quibbles in an otherwise satisfying read. The endpapers are worth poring over, done in a scrapbook style. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10.5-by-21-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

A delightful tale that is likely to be a perennial first at storytime. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews