“[W]e have only one mother,” the author concludes (true in most cases, at least). “The moon is the very least that we can...
A lad bent on giving his mother the Moon discovers that it’s hard—but not impossible—to reach.
Briére-Haquet begins by noting with unassailable logic that “[b]ecause he is small, [Peter] is not very tall.” She stands him atop a rising pyramid of his father, his friends, helpful local people and more—to all of whom he promises a piece of the moon once he reaches it. Eventually, frustrated and thinking that the widespread distribution wouldn’t leave much to give his mother anyway, he stalks around the world to cool off and then decides to give it one more try. Success! And the Moon turns out to be much bigger than he had supposed. The narrative is written in free verse laced with internal and partial rhymes. It floats over rolling, canted crowd scenes of stylized babushkas and others in baggy, patterned clothing, who lean into one another and reach upward to help Peter on his way. If the print is a bit hard to make out on darker spreads and Chauffrey’s Moon resembles a roast wrapped in brown paper and string netting, still the painted art’s visual rhythms match the text for quirky energy. Mutual adoration between mother and child shines out in a final cozy cuddle.
“[W]e have only one mother,” the author concludes (true in most cases, at least). “The moon is the very least that we can offer her!” (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-2-7338-1940-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Auzou Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2012
This multigenerational snuggle will encourage the sharing of old memories and the creation of new ones.
Hill and Bobbiesi send a humungous hug from grandmothers to their granddaughters everywhere.
Delicate cartoon art adds details to the rhyming text showing multigenerational commonalities. “You and I are alike in such wonderful ways. / You will see more and more as you grow” (as grandmother and granddaughter enjoy the backyard together); “I wobbled uncertainly just as you did / whenever I tried something new” (as a toddler takes first steps); “And if a bad dream woke me up in the night, / I snuggled up with my lovey too” (grandmother kisses granddaughter, who clutches a plush narwhal). Grandmother-granddaughter pairs share everyday joys like eating ice cream, dancing “in the rain,” and making “up silly games.” Although some activities skew stereotypically feminine (baking, yoga), a grandmother helps with a quintessential volcano experiment (this pair presents black, adding valuable STEM representation), another cheers on a young wheelchair athlete (both present Asian), and a third, wearing a hijab, accompanies her brown-skinned granddaughter on a peace march, as it is “important to speak out for what you believe.” The message of unconditional love is clear throughout: “When you need me, I’ll be there to listen and care. / There is nothing that keeps us apart.” The finished book will include “stationery…for a special letter from Grandma to you!”
This multigenerational snuggle will encourage the sharing of old memories and the creation of new ones. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-0623-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy.
Robo-parents Diode and Lugnut present daughter Cathode with a new little brother—who requires, unfortunately, some assembly.
Arriving in pieces from some mechanistic version of Ikea, little Flange turns out to be a cute but complicated tyke who immediately falls apart…and then rockets uncontrollably about the room after an overconfident uncle tinkers with his basic design. As a squad of helpline techies and bevies of neighbors bearing sludge cake and like treats roll in, the cluttered and increasingly crowded scene deteriorates into madcap chaos—until at last Cath, with help from Roomba-like robodog Sprocket, stages an intervention by whisking the hapless new arrival off to a backyard workshop for a proper assembly and software update. “You’re such a good big sister!” warbles her frazzled mom. Wiesner’s robots display his characteristic clean lines and even hues but endearingly look like vaguely anthropomorphic piles of random jet-engine parts and old vacuum cleaners loosely connected by joints of armored cable. They roll hither and thither through neatly squared-off panels and pages in infectiously comical dismay. Even the end’s domestic tranquility lasts only until Cathode spots the little box buried in the bigger one’s packing material: “TWINS!” (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 52% of actual size.)
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-544-98731-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
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