Daddy and Me and the Rhyme to Be (A Karma's World Picture Book)

by Chris Bridges, Halcyon Person, Parker-Nia Gordon (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

From the prolific pens of Halcyon Person and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, comes this endearing and harmonious story about the love between a father and daughter. Karma wants to write a special rap for her father's birthday but sometimes doing things on your own can be scary. There's no shame in asking for help and being honest, and that's true even if your father is Ludacris! With the help of Parker-Nia Gordon's illustrations, Daddy and Me and the Rhyme to Be feels like a sneak peek into the fun world of Karma and Chris.

A humorous and heartwarming picture book from legendary musician Chris "Ludacris" Bridges about the special bond between father and daughter.

Karma and her daddy love to make music together! Karma sets up the rhyme and daddy finishes it. Together, they're the perfect team! But when it's time for Karma to write her daddy a rap for his birthday all on her own, she can't quite make it perfect. What rhymes with banana anyway? Told with heart and humor, Karma soon realizes that she never has to do anything alone as long as she has daddy by her side.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338835380
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	06/07/2022
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	56 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

PARKER-NIA GORDON is a Tennessee-based illustrator who's always had an interest in drawing and painting. Her passion for illustration and storytelling inspired her to get a BFA at Ringling College of Art and Design. She has worked as a visual teacher for elementary school children but more recently has had the opportunity to work in many galleries and artist pop-ups around her city. She is the illustrator of the picture book Daddy and Me and the Rhyme to Be inspired by the Netflix serie Karma's World.
Halcyon Person is a writer, director, and producer for everything from preschool to late night. You've seen her Emmy, Humanitas, and NAACP Award-nominated work on Nickelodeon, PBS, Netflix, Apple TV, TBS, and published in books for young readers. Her mission is to create work that centers those experiences underrepresented in media to foster greater understanding -- all through stories driven by humor and heart. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, her son, her nervous dog, and her cranky cat. And when she's not writing, she's trying to figure out how to keep her tomatoes safe from (adorable) squirrels.
CHRIS BRIDGES, sometimes professionally known as “Ludacris,” is the creator of Karma’s World. He is also a successful actor, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist as well as one of music’s most successful recording artists. Chris currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia. His love for his community led him to found The Ludacris Foundation (TLF), in 2001. This nonprofit organization seeks to inspire youth through education and memorable experiences and to uplift families and communities, while fostering economic development. For more information on TLF check out theludacrisfoundation.org.

Editorial Reviews

From the prolific pens of Halcyon Person and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, comes this endearing and harmonious story about the love between a father and daughter.” —Barnes & Noble, Most Anticipated Kids’ Reads, June 2022

“Delightfully captures the frustration and occasional absurdity that can come out of brainstorming sessions… Cheerful and charming.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Vivid and vibrant, Daddy and Me and the Rhyme to Be delivers on fun wordplay, adorable illustrations, endearing characters, and positive diverse representations.”

“The special daddy-daughter bond cannot be denied in this charming picture book.” —Common Sense Media

From the Publisher

05/27/2022

PreS-Gr 1—In this adaptation of the animated series "Karma's World," Karma decides to write a special birthday song for her father. Her discarded attempts at rhymed lines include: "I love it when me and Daddy stir batter with a spoon/ And our favorite thing to do is play soccer on the moon!" and "He makes me feel safe from when I sleep to when I wake/ And at night he tucks me in under a giant pancake!" These bizarre false starts, illustrated literally as imagined digressions, feel as contrived to readers as they do to the characters rejecting them. The book's title itself suffers from the same forced quality, with the confusing phrase "the rhyme to be" left unmentioned and unexplained. The illustrations resemble awkward freeze-frames digitally cut and pasted from a cartoon, ill-suited to the picture book medium. VERDICT Both the writing and art of this title exemplify the inherent shortcomings of picture books adapted from animated television series. Skip it.—Jonah Dragan

School Library Journal

2022-05-11
A father and daughter find that the best way to write a song is together.

Karma already knows she’s bound to be a musical superstar, but she’ll acknowledge that there is maybe someone out there who can share her spotlight—her daddy. A musician and producer, Karma’s dad can make music out of everything they do together, from riding bikes to playing pretend. But for Daddy’s birthday, Karma wants to write a song on her own to give him as a gift. The only problem is, they’re used to riffing off each other, and Karma’s not accustomed to rhyming on her own. “He makes me feel safe from when I sleep to when I wake” is a nice enough sentiment, until she finds herself left with “and at night he tucks me in under a giant pancake!” What’s a co-writer to do without her other half? Based on characters from the Netflix series Karma’s World, this original story from Person (head writer of the show) and Bridges (better known as rapper Ludacris) delightfully captures the frustration and occasional absurdity that can come out of brainstorming sessions. Though the beginning and end of the story are a little on the saccharine side, Act 2 is where the magic is. Gordon’s colorful, cartoon-style illustrations are accentuated by big, bold, onomatopoeic words describing instrumentation and beatboxing. Karma and her family are Black. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Cheerful and charming. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews