Connie Schofield-Morrison

Agreat prescription for kids who tremble at the thought of their first day of school.

A young African American girl with deep brown skin, round cheeks, and an infectious smile spends her first day of school celebrating spirit in many ways. With her hair in two gigantic puffballs, she shows her school spirit with snazzy shoes (“STOMP, STOMP!”), her backpack (“ZIP, ZIP!”), and her “loud…clear” singing in class (“ABC, 123!”). Her spirit surfaces in onomatopoeic words on nearly show more every double-page spread, contributing to the high energy of the story. Morrison’s vibrant oil paintings, reminiscent of those by artist and NFL player Ernie Barnes, feature close-up perspectives of the little girl and everyone she encounters while they reveal lots of diversity both in her neighborhood and at school. She even has a black male teacher—a rare demographic in American elementary schools—who captivates his class during storytime. Like its predecessors, I Got the Rhythm(2014) and I Got the Christmas Spirit (2018), this picture book establishes a sentence pattern that persists, one that will help nascent readers predict what comes next. Each line begins with a personal pronoun and an active-voice verb—“I share,” “I breathe,” “we sing,” etc.—that exudes this protagonist’s enthusiasm for school.

If a school pep rally could walk and talk, this kid would be it. (Picture book. 4-8)

-Kirkus Review show less

"Christmas spirit is expressed in joyous and reflective onomatopoeic exclamations in this new holiday staple, a follow-up to I Got the Rhythm (2014).

With her first yawn in the morning, the young black protagonist, coily ’fro on full display, excitedly wakes to the spirit of the season. Snowflakes flutter across bright illustrations, encouraging readers to inhale, feel, taste, and listen to all things Christmas as embodied in loving detail in the rhythmic language. The winter delights show more include ice skating (“SWISH SWISH”), caroling (“FA LA LA LA LA”), and the sparkling of Christmas lights (“BLING BLING”), whetting the appetites of young readers as they count down the days until Christmas. Each page sets a different scene, but the little girl, now with two adorable afro puffs, steals each one as she bops around town. Whether she’s letting the steam from roasted chestnuts curl around her face or advocating for others with Santa, she makes sure to show that the spirit of Christmas is not just the traditions enjoyed, but also the actions taken to share kindness and joy with others, because “THE SPIRIT IS YOU!” Author and illustrator capture children’s insistent acknowledgment of what adults often pretend not to see, in this case homeless members of the community, and they also emphasize the strength of will that allows the young protagonist to rise mightily to the occasion.

Soul-stirring and sure to put readers in a festive mood" www.Kirikusreviews.com show less

A young girl and her mother enjoy the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the holiday season in this exuberant Christmas picture-book. They join a chorus singing carols, eat some tasty roasted nuts, and visit Santa Claus. They also encounter the needy, something that clearly influences the girl, who arranges for a lovely surprise for a poor street family. In the end, the girl and her parents have the Christmas spirit, and will keep it in their hearts all year...

The second picture-book from show more author/illustrator (and husband and wife) team Connie Schofield-Morrison and Frank Morrison, following upon their earlier I Got the Rhythm, I Got the Christmas Spirit pairs a positive, upbeat text, with no more than a few words per page, with brightly colored, energetic illustrations. The African-American family depicted are a loving, active bunch, and the conclusion of the book reemphasizes the all-importance of having that eponymous Christmas spirit. show less

Morrison and Morrison do an amazing job at bringing to life not only this girl's voice, but also painting the picture of how she sees life. Enjoying life while being confident as far as who you are, were things this girl possessed. The book is filled with detailed illustrations detailing the girl's progression through the rhythm she imagined. This is great book to teach children about onomatopoeia. This book is filled with many examples throughout the whole book. "I felt the rhythm with my show more knees (KNOCK KNOCK)." show less