Celebrate You!

by Sherri Duskey Rinker, A. N. Kang (Illustrator)

Overview

From Sherri Duskey Rinker, the blockbuster New York Times bestselling author of Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site, and A. N. Kang, the acclaimed illustrator of Papillon: The Very Fluffy Kitty, comes the perfect graduation book for fans of The Wonderful Things You Will Be.

Loudly and proudly, let’s celebrate YOU!

This charming new picture book celebrates all the small but important milestones on the way to growing up, from the first wobbly baby steps to the time when they’re ready to leave the nest.

With irresistible illustrations and an inspiring message, Celebrate You! will cheer and encourage readers of any age.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062564023
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/05/2019
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	446,151
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sherri Duskey Rinker is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site; Steam Train, Dream Train; Silly Wonderful You; and other popular picture books. Sherri lives in the Chicago area with her photographer husband and two sons. She can be found online at www.sherriduskeyrinker.com.

A. N. Kang is a Korean-born designer who started her career designing giftware, jewelry, and greeting cards. Later she also designed holiday installations all over New York City. She debuted as an author and illustrator with her picture book The Very Fluffy Kitty, Papillon. Her main source of inspiration is her love of animals. It’s her dream to rescue injured baby wild animals like owls and penguins or any animals that would tolerate her constant hugs and kisses. A. N. Kang can be found online at annakangdesign.com.

Editorial Reviews

12/17/2018

A penguin wearing a red bow tie—and an expression of uncertainty—comes home to a surprise party with parents, animal friends, balloons, cake, and lots of enthusiasm. The penguins and party guests fondly reminisce about the penguin’s hatching and milestones, and speculate on the penguin’s future. Rinker’s rhymes have a nice, chugging rhythm: “Strong will and hard work/ have led you this way./ You’ve chased all your dreams.../ Look where you are today!” Scenes show the penguin catching a massive fish through a hole in the ice, “flying” with a checkered red cape (“Nothing can stop you/ when you aim for the sky!”), and heading out on a little sailboat—a gentle whale happily guiding the boat just beneath the waves. Working in spare mixed media, Kang captures the gushing exuberance of proud parents—and the delight in being the feted penguin. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for SILLY WONDERFUL YOU: “[A] cozy but fast-paced story.” — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

04/01/2019

PreS-Gr 2-A young penguin in a red bow tie serves as the stand-in for readers in this story written in the second person. Penguin enters a room filled with decorations, animal friends, and family. Penguin possesses many virtues. Penguin has worked hard chasing dreams with true grit while remaining humble. This is just the beginning, for Penguin ("You") will go forth and shine because there is nothing he ("you") can't do. Each page depicts the cute and pert penguin facing challenges, like birth, walking, learning, fishing, skiing,and so forth, intermixed with balloon and confetti celebratory scenes. Arctic environs and animals are used to convey the various story elements in a cool color palette with red punches of color. Charcoal, pencil, ink, and digitally edited illustrations complement the flowing rhyming prose, which is sprinkled with hand lettering. The author and illustrator have crafted a book along the lines of Dr. Seuss's Oh, the Places You'll Go!, often given as a gift book in commemoration of life's milestones. VERDICT Full of affirmation for readers, this book will make an engaging addition to home and public libraries.-Mindy Hiatt, Salt Lake County Library Services

School Library Journal

2018-11-26

An extended hip-hip-hooray in book form.

The opening double-page spread shows a bewildered, anthropomorphic penguin walking into a room bedecked with streamers and balloons as confetti flies about. A bevy of animals on the facing page leaps up with a cheer. "Yippee" reads a banner held in an owl's beak, while a pair of penguins (the protagonist's family?), a polar bear, a fox, and a deer join in the celebration. The "you" in the title and in text throughout the book clearly addresses this protagonist penguin, but it encompasses the reader, too: "On this special occasion, / we're just so filled with pride, / and we're thrilled, and we're grateful, / to be on your side!" Bouncy, rhyming text and playful, expressive, digitally enhanced multimedia illustrations make plain the joy the group feels, but the celebrated event remains ambiguous. Furthermore, the order of the illustrations doesn't really matter, since neither words nor pictures provide a narrative for the reader to latch onto. Although a presumed flashback begins with the penguin's hatching and both text and illustrations periodically depict the penguin's growth, the vignettes depicted in between are cute but feel arbitrary. The result is a book that feels more like an expanded greeting card than it does a picture book.

A good pick for kindergarten and preschool graduation gifts and other such early-childhood events. (Picture book. 2-5)

Kirkus Reviews