What We Wear When We Take Care

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4.3

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Author(s)

Sarah Finan

Publisher

Candlewick

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

June 18, 2024

ISBN

978-1536227703

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From donning helmets in places where things clatter and clonk to wearing masks around people who cough or chatter, this is a lively look at the many items we wear to stay safe.

We often wear things to protect ourselves in different environments, whether it’s goggles when snorkeling or helmets at the skate park. Sometimes it’s headphones around loud noises, or neon vests when crossing a busy street, or warm gloves in the freezing snow. Whatever the situation calls for, special gear keeps us and others safe. Equal parts fun and informative, with kid-friendly artwork and sound words to engage the youngest readers, this picture book from creator Sarah Finan looks at the gear we wear, from head to toe, that helps us take care when exploring and enjoying the world around us.

Editor review

1 review

Helmets and Earplugs and Masks!

July 04, 2024

Overall rating

4.3

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

There are all sorts of situations where people wear protective gear, and this book lays out a variety of them with panache. Helmets protect people's heads, headphones protect ears, and goggles protect the eyes. There are also gloves and masks to protect people, as well as brightly colored vests to wear to help others see us, and boots to protect the feet. This ends with a question for the reader about what they might wear to take care.

Good Points

The drawings are all in the most pleasing shades of blue and yellow, with touches of brown, gray, and tan for animals and faces. There is a real art to using a limited color palette, and this makes the pictures really pop. I'm surprised at all of the situations that can be depicted with these two main colors!

I enjoyed the fact that each type of protective gear was shown on adults in work environments first, and then on children. There was also a pleasing symmetry to the entries with a lot of onomatopoetic words splashed about the pages in larger fonts that helped the story move along more quickly, and also makes it more fun to read.

There is a British feel to this; there are at least two pictures of school children in the classic UK type uniform; wouldn't it be nice if all US students had to wear dark trousers and sweater vests?

Books on safety tend to be somehow odd, quickly dated, and sometimes... questionable, so I'm not going to list other books like this, because I can't think of any. This is just a good overview of different types of safety equipment, but feels timeless, even with some school children wearing face masks on the bus. It's just some food for thought for young readers, and I very much appreciate that one of the very first types of gear mentioned is a helmet, and it's shown on children who are riding bikes. Never too early to learn how important it is to wear THAT.