A laudably inclusive version of a literally ripping yarn.
Nautical misadventures transform a ship in this moderately embellished version of a paper-folding tale best known as “The Captain’s Shirt.”
Following simple directions given at the beginning, readers can fold a paper boat and voyage along as Capt. Skip enlists a crew and sets sail into a succession of storms and other disasters that rip off the ship’s bow, stern, and upper mast. This leaves a wreck that Skip and her crew must abandon, hopping into lifeboats as the ship sinks with a “glub, glub, glub, glub.” During the adventure, various onlooking birds and animals issue instructions to readers to, for example, “tear off the top part of your paper ship,” so that at the end, when the damaged paper boat is pulled as the inserted diagrams show, it suddenly turns into a shirt. In bright and bouncy illustrations that appear to have been done in a mix of silkscreen and paper collage, Moreno pays close attention to diversity, as each member of the five-person crew is differently clad and colored (including blue). While one sports a beard and two (one with a wooden prosthesis) seem to present as women, the others are gender ambiguous. The brown-skinned skipper, who is likewise ambiguous as to gender presentation, is referred to with the female pronoun in Ross’ translation but is “el capitán Marco” with the same art in the original Spanish edition, which publishes simultaneously in the U.S.
A laudably inclusive version of a literally ripping yarn. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-84-18133-16-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: NubeOcho
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2021
A brisk if bland offering for series fans, but cleverer metafictive romps abound.
The titular cookie runs off the page at a bookstore storytime, pursued by young listeners and literary characters.
Following on 13 previous How To Catch… escapades, Wallace supplies sometimes-tortured doggerel and Elkerton, a set of helter-skelter cartoon scenes. Here the insouciant narrator scampers through aisles, avoiding a series of elaborate snares set by the racially diverse young storytime audience with help from some classic figures: “Alice and her mad-hat friends, / as a gift for my unbirthday, / helped guide me through the walls of shelves— / now I’m bound to find my way.” The literary helpers don’t look like their conventional or Disney counterparts in the illustrations, but all are clearly identified by at least a broad hint or visual cue, like the unnamed “wizard” who swoops in on a broom to knock over a tower labeled “Frogwarts.” Along with playing a bit fast and loose with details (“Perhaps the boy with the magic beans / saved me with his cow…”) the author discards his original’s lip-smacking climax to have the errant snack circling back at last to his book for a comfier sort of happily-ever-after.
A brisk if bland offering for series fans, but cleverer metafictive romps abound. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-0935-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A story of friendship that is both lively and lovely
Two friends embark upon a high-seas adventure.
Kondo, a large lemon-colored creature with wide round eyes, spends his day on his island home with his best friend, tangerine-hued Kezumi. Together, they frolic on their idyllic isle picking berries (tall Kondo nabs the higher fruit while Kezumi helps to retrieve the lower) while surrounded by tiny “flitter-birds” and round “fluffle-bunnies.” One day, Kezumi finds a map in a bottle that declares “WE ARE NOT ALONE.” Inspired by visions of a larger world, Kondo and Kezumi fashion a boat from a bathtub and set sail. The pair visits fantastical islands—deliciously cheese-laden Dairy Isle, the fiery and fearsome Fireskull Island—until they eventually settle upon the titular Giant Island, where they meet Albert, a gigantic gray talking mountain who is—obviously—unable to leave. Enthralled by his new friends, Albert wants them to stay forever. After Albert makes a fraught decision, Kondo and Kezumi find themselves at a crossroads and must confront their new friend. Goodner and Tsurumi’s brightly illustrated chapter book should find favor with fans of Kate DiCamillo and Chris Van Dusen’s similarly designed Mercy Watson series. Short, wry, descriptive sentences make for an equally enjoyable experience whether read aloud or independently. Episodic chapters move the action along jauntily; the conclusion is somewhat abrupt, but it promises more exploration and adventures for the best friends. (This review was originally published in the June 1, 2019, issue. The book data has been updated to reflect changes in publisher and date of publication.)
A story of friendship that is both lively and lovely (Fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-368-02577-5
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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