An engaging story full of both intergenerational appeal and Christmas cheer.
In this tale rooted in actual events, a treasured Christmas gift is repaired and ready to be loved by a new owner.
Evie and her great-grandma Sue take Sue’s old, worn, beloved doll to Jay and his team to be spruced up. When Jay asks the story behind the doll, Sue tells him how, in 1939, she, along with other young evacuees, left London for the English countryside to escape the blitzkrieg. The kind couple she stayed with gave her the beautiful doll as a Christmas present, and she kept it to remember her time with them. Jay and the “Teddy Bear Ladies” restore the doll, which goes on to live another life with Evie. Backmatter notes that this story is based on the experiences of a young girl named Patricia and her doll Betty; it also describes the real Repair Shop, located in South Downs, England. Though many children will be drawn in by the holiday theme and the focus on a toy, the narrative will also expose them to a potentially unfamiliar chapter of history. Sue’s love for her doll is evident in the artwork, which also helps immerse readers in the World War II setting. Evie, Sue, and the Teddy Bear Ladies are light-skinned, while Jay is brown-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An engaging story full of both intergenerational appeal and Christmas cheer. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781536231366
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick Entertainment
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
A deeply felt narrative, distilled from contemporary reports and documents.
A Southern novelist looks to the Civil War’s immediate aftermath in this newly free child’s account of a weary search for his mother.
“War’s over. Government say we free. Folks be on the move. Getting the feel for freedom. Not me.” He joins the large number of ex-slaves who, “all hope and hurry on,” have hit the road in search of brighter futures, but young Gabe has a different goal: tracking down his sold-away and only living parent Rosie Lee. Keeping his goal before him like the fixed North Star, he travels for months from Mobile to the “worn-down toes of the Appalachian Mountains,” following vague leads from sympathetic listeners and offices of the Freedman’s Bureau, enduring hardships and disappointment. Applying paint in thickly brushed impasto, Shepherd views Gabe’s world and encounters from a child’s-eye height but gives the barefoot, raggedly clad boy a look of hard-won maturity that points to past sorrows and underscores the depth of his determination. His distinct voice will draw readers into caring about his quest and sharing the tide of joy that accompanies his ultimate success: “That night, I slept snuggled up tight with my mama, praying for all those boys like me searching for their mamas who be searching for them.”
A deeply felt narrative, distilled from contemporary reports and documents. (afterword) (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-933693-97-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press
Review Posted Online: June 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2011
It's a pity that the real story behind this actual, extraordinary piece of ornate French décor is withheld, leaving readers...
The fictionalized story behind the creation of a 19th-century chandelier currently on display in the J. Paul Getty Museum.
In the early 1800s, Louis Alexandre enjoys visiting his Uncle Henri on his expansive estate just outside of Paris. On his latest visit, he finds his artist uncle distraught, unable to conceive a new design for a chandelier, which must incorporate the four classical elements: Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. Several days of collaborative thinking, drawing, designing and building produce the unusual and intriguing light fixture, which includes a blue sphere with stars, griffins and a crystal bowl filled with swimming goldfish. The lengthy narration features the internal recounting of adventurous tales that serve as inspiration for the characters’ creativity. Intricate, darkly tinted ink-and-watercolor paintings depict the well-to-do gentleman and his nephew, both in ruffled shirts, imagining, consulting and overseeing the creation of a new masterpiece. They provide relief from the long-winded text, which, though not without humor, does readers a disservice in its baroque construction. An author’s note provides some clarification but no true investigation of the actual manufacture of the chandelier.
It's a pity that the real story behind this actual, extraordinary piece of ornate French décor is withheld, leaving readers cheated of a true exploration of art history. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 6, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-60606-094-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Getty Publications
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2012
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