Every Monday Mabel

Starred review from November 4, 2024
Mondays don’t get a lot of love—unless you’re the eponymous protagonist of this picture book, in which case, “Monday is the best day of the week.” To the amusement of her parents, Mabel wakes up early, dresses, grabs a bowl of dry cereal, and drags a chair to the driveway to await the garbage truck’s arrival. “And it’s huge!” writes Awan (I’m Going to Build a Snowman). “The engine roars! The lights flash! The hubcaps shine! The brakes squeak!” The vehicle lifts a garbage can into the air, and Mabel hoists her cereal bowl to the sky in solidarity. Mabel is convinced that everyone she knows has missed it, this “best thing in the world,” but the following pages reveal that the child belongs to a bigger community: as the truck makes its rounds, it draws beaming faces to various windows, suggesting that trash-pickup Monday is the “best day” for a lot of people. Digital art, a blend of watercolor and cut-paper looks, employs soft shapes and strong geometric lines. Throughout, Mabel exudes the unshakable enthusiasm of a die-hard fan, and the truck, bright green with stylized details, proves a worthy object of communal adoration. Characters are portrayed with various abilities and skin tones. Ages 4–8. Agent: Erica Rand Silverman, Stimola Literary Studio.

December 15, 2024
Each Monday, Mabel prepares for "the best thing in the world." Why is Mabel dragging her chair outside to the top of the driveway, where she sits and waits with a bowl of cereal? Older sister Mira thinks Mabel's Monday morning routine is "the most boring thing." Mom thinks it's the "cutest," Dad the "funniest." Awan builds suspense and drama as brown-skinned Mabel moves through the house. At last, the garbage truck pulls up to the curb, and Mabel's filled with excitement as she watches the sanitation workers do their thing. Neon colors pop in the illustrations; in one scene, Mabel's double puffs and off-kilter chair loom larger than life in the shadows they cast behind her. Diagonal lines add interest, as when Dad's massive arm reaches up across the gutter to open the door for his daughter, coffee splashing from the cup in his other hand. Action lines, alliteration, capital letters, and sound effects help readers understand why the massive machine rumbling to the curb is so special: "Liiiiift." "Wheeeeeeeee." "Gah-dump." "TRASH TUMBLES INTO THE TRUCK!" The spectacle is a young child's delight, and it's refreshing to see a vehicle-related book starring a girl of color. Unbeknownst to Mabel, she isn't the only one who waits for the garbage truck. Turning to the final page, viewers see several neighbors of various skin tones at their windows. Captures the excitement of anticipation, the thrill of yearning realized, and truck love among the young.(Picture book. 2-5)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from December 30, 2024

PreS-Gr 2-"Monday is the best day of the week (according to Mabel, at least)." With tan skin, light brown hair in double ponytails, and purpose coursing through her, Mabel gets started on her day, pouring herself a bowl of cereal and heading somewhere to do the "cutest" thing, according to her mother. Mabel takes up her station to wait for the garbage truck. Vehicle buffs will love the next few spreads as the truck's many moving parts make the most splendid crashes and booms (the typography supports this sequence fully). Her entire family is in on Mabel's desire and need to get to her post on time; readers glimpse her sister Mira doing "boring" things like listening to music and reading a book and in a charming ending, discover that Mabel is not alone in her fascinations. Awan continues his streak of showing the purposefulness of humans in general and children in particular, through Towed By Toad, I'm Going To Build A Snowman, and other titles. How such simple, expressive illustrations convey the excitement that makes the arrival of a truck more like a Broadway show is a question best left to the artist. VERDICT Children will be empowered to declare their own special events each week, while educators and parents will see that even small moments are worthy of celebration.-Kimberly Olson Fakih

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 1, 2025
Preschool-Grade 3 *Starred Review* This joyous little book celebrates how garbage trucks move, how they sound, and how they work, all from the perspective of a little girl who thinks they're the best thing ever. Little Mabel's story carries a lot of suspense: we don't know why she is so excited about Mondays until the truck makes its noisy appearance midbook. Mabel has blocky-looking legs, black circles for eyes, a black slash for a mouth, and pigtails that stand straight up like furry antlers, yet she manages to look adorable and expressive. We see her prepping for what's going to happen this particular Monday by taking a bowl of cereal and a chair out to the family home's driveway. And then comes a roar and a honking, and "the best thing in the world" appears--a garbage truck. The digital illustrations and lettering capture the enormity of garbage trucks with their clanging sounds, flashing lights, and shining hubcaps, contrasting huge lettering for the garbage truck's appearance and actions and tiny lettering for Mabel's awed reactions. Mabel isn't alone in her appreciation; the final pages expand out to other kids looking out of windows, thinking that Monday is the best day ever.

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