A mild, recognizable adventure for toddlers.
Bright, brief, undeniably cute but still rather bland, Pip and Posy’s (The Scary Monster, 2012, etc.) third adventure involves a mishap with a red balloon.
Vibrant gouache hues paint the everyday world of these two animal friends. “Pip had a…balloon of his very own. He liked it a lot.” He shows it to Posy, and off they go on a walk. As they admire toys in a store window, “by mistake, Pip let the balloon go!” They chase after it until it pops on a sharp tree branch in the park. Pip is crushed: “He cried and cried and cried.” Toddlers and preschoolers will relate to Pip’s unfortunate turn of events and his ensuing tears. When Posy has the inspired idea to blow bubbles, Pip emerges from his misery and has some fun; they do not mind when they pop, “because that’s what bubbles are supposed to do!” Simple text constructed with a controlled vocabulary and presented in a large font may make this a decent choice for new readers as well as a read-aloud for toddlers, even though the relative lack of story and pat ending limit its overall appeal.
A mild, recognizable adventure for toddlers. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6372-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: Feb. 26, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2013
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance.
A boy with wings learns to be himself and inspires others like him to soar, too.
Norman, a “perfectly normal” boy, never dreamed he might grow wings. Afraid of what his parents might say, he hides his new wings under a big, stuffy coat. Although the coat hides his wings from the world, Norman no longer finds joy in bathtime, playing at the park, swimming, or birthday parties. With the gentle encouragement of his parents, who see his sadness, Norman finds the courage to come out of hiding and soar. Percival (The Magic Looking Glass, 2017, etc.) depicts Norman with light skin and dark hair. Black-and-white illustrations show his father with dark skin and hair and his mother as white. The contrast of black-and-white illustrations with splashes of bright color complements the story’s theme. While Norman tries to be “normal,” the world and people around him look black and gray, but his coat stands out in yellow. Birds pop from the page in pink, green, and blue, emphasizing the joy and beauty of flying free. The final spread, full of bright color and multiracial children in flight, sets the mood for Norman’s realization on the last page that there is “no such thing as perfectly normal,” but he can be “perfectly Norman.”
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-785-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
Still, this young boy’s imagination is a powerful force for helping him deal with life, something that should be true for...
Oliver, of first-day-of-school alligator fame, is back, imagining adventures and still struggling to find balance between introversion and extroversion.
“When Oliver found his egg…” on the playground, mint-green backgrounds signifying Oliver’s flight into fancy slowly grow larger until they take up entire spreads; Oliver’s creature, white and dinosaurlike with orange polka dots, grows larger with them. Their adventures include sharing treats, sailing the seas and going into outer space. A classmate’s yell brings him back to reality, where readers see him sitting on top of a rock. Even considering Schmid’s scribbly style, readers can almost see the wheels turning in his head as he ponders the girl and whether or not to give up his solitary play. “But when Oliver found his rock… // Oliver imagined many adventures // with all his friends!” This last is on a double gatefold that opens to show the children enjoying the creature’s slippery curves. A final wordless spread depicts all the children sitting on rocks, expressions gleeful, wondering, waiting, hopeful. The illustrations, done in pastel pencil and digital color, again make masterful use of white space and page turns, although this tale is not nearly as funny or tongue-in-cheek as Oliver and His Alligator (2013), nor is its message as clear and immediately accessible to children.
Still, this young boy’s imagination is a powerful force for helping him deal with life, something that should be true for all children but sadly isn’t. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: July 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-7573-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
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