Who knew there were so many lessons to be learned from a cutlery drawer? (Picture book. 4-8)
This companion to the well-loved Spoon (2009) is equally charming.
When one member of a pair of chopsticks suffers an accident, both learn that friendship can benefit from separation. Full of visual and verbal puns, with a supporting cast of the familiar Knife, Fork and Spoon, the plucky chopsticks learn that sticking together sometimes requires venturing out alone. Encouraged by his injured friend to get out and go, the healthy chopstick discovers hidden strengths by joining in a game of pick-up sticks, helping Spoon with the pole vault, testing cupcakes for doneness and conducting a cutlery band. When the friend recovers (and “[f]eels fantastic(k)!”), the two find that being apart “had made each of them even stronger”—and furthermore they find many new things they can now do together. “Toasted” by their friends, they conclude with a rendition of “Chopsticks,” with Magoon’s clever drawings hitting all the right notes. Most picture books that deal with a separation between friends focus either on healing after an argument or getting by after a friend has moved away. This is refreshing in its lighthearted, upbeat treatment of the value of occasionally going one's own way.
Who knew there were so many lessons to be learned from a cutlery drawer? (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4231-0796-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2011
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 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
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