SOME DAYS and I WISH YOU MORE

SOME DAYS by Karen Kaufman Orloff illustrated by Ziyue Chen is a mood book. Children, just like adults, ride an emotional roller coaster. They get stressed (“Feeling all alone days.”), they get disappointed (“No kickball for us days.”), they have happy, sad and mad days. The situations in this picture book are kid-friendly and relatable (playing in the snow, playing dress up, making a water mess to name a few). The child listening to the story may not be able to label the different emotions on the pages, but they will understand they’ve felt that way, too. And it’s okay.

The art is vibrant with varying perspectives. Although, we do not know the relationship between the girl and boy, the girl is light skinned and the boy is browned skinned, this reflects the world we live in. Many of the children’s emotions depicted on the pages are not stated. The expressive faces on the characters assist the reader in identifying the emotions. Children will learn a new skill, feel a sense of mastery in reading facial expressions and feel a little more secure in their world that can seem chaotic at times.

I WISH YOU MORE by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld is a book about wishes. Some wishes are about friendship, inquisitiveness, sharing and time for me moments. Some of the sentences show contrast (“…more pause than fast-forward.”) and some show a relationship (“…more umbrella than rain.”). Other sentences show determination (“…more can than knot.”). Love the word play! The situations depicted are also kid-friendly and relatable (swimming, collecting treasures, blowing a dandelion and others).

The art is engaging and sweet with plenty of white space to encourage the child to think about the wish or focus on the character. The characters are different ethnicities, making the reader feel welcomed and more able to identify with the wishes. My favorite page is a double page spread of a boy reading his book under the covers with his alligator slippers under the bed. The scene is quiet and peaceful with warm shades of blue that lead us to the lovely ending.