It would be rare for a story that depends so thoroughly on establishing empathetic connection to succeed as a picture-book...
The classic story retold in an abbreviated picture-book version.
Sewell’s original Black Beauty, first published in 1877, tells the story of a carriage horse’s life from the horse’s point of view. The impact of the original lies in Black Beauty’s heart-rending narration as he describes his life as a work animal, often suffering due to the neglect and, in some cases, deliberate cruelty of his various owners. While Brown’s retelling retains Black Beauty as narrator and stays true to the main plot points of the original story, the emotional tug is missing, and it reads rather like a dispassionate summary. To be fair, it is hard to see how pathos—the essential strength of Sewell’s original—could be generated in the succinct, 32-page format. Brown’s superb illustrations, however, more than carry their weight. Each double-page spread illuminates the setting of 19th-century England and gives the story an ambiance and luxuriousness that the spare text lacks. The faux marbled endpapers are a nice period touch, as is the information about Sewell included on the endpapers.
It would be rare for a story that depends so thoroughly on establishing empathetic connection to succeed as a picture-book adaptation, and this one doesn’t, but the illustrations provide such a sumptuous visual feast that it is most assuredly worth perusing. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5124-1619-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Andersen Press USA
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
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