Not a lullaby by any stretch, but good for a guffaw.
A boy slams a door. This is not late-breaking news.
Unless the slam dislodges a red, rubber ball that has been stuck in the second-story gutter, which falls on the cat sleeping in the yard, that whereupon jumps on the lady’s head, spilling her bag of groceries, the eggs in which splatter on the face of the gentleman out for a walk—he could use the exercise—pulling his bulldog on a skateboard behind him, which rolls off down a hill and causes the fish-delivery truck to lose its cargo of slippery, slimy things, which ruins the sewer workers’ midmorning break, which rouses the dragon in the sewer, which scares the aliens, which causes the circus strongman to get three ice cream cones mashed onto his bald head. Meanwhile, the door-slammer is oblivious, walking just a step ahead of the tide of chaos, ears safely protected from the din by earphones. It is all a cumulative contagion of catastrophe, with few words to interrupt the proceedings, just an eyeful of cockamamie consequences. This story will be left up to the teller’s panache, aided and abetted by Stower’s crazy art happenings, strangely but effectively drawn with a palette of candy-heart colors and with teeming action on every page.
Not a lullaby by any stretch, but good for a guffaw. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 15, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-77147-007-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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