The vibrant colors and kid-friendly character design are sure to draw kids; librarians and parents will applaud the...
Six kids with diverse talents and of diverse ethnicities team up to fix a broken fountain and discover its magic in this picture-book series starter from debut author team Chapman and Das, with vibrant illustrations by veteran Chua (How Nivi Got Her Names, 2017).
The fountain in the center of Gokul village has lost its former glory. Its pipes are clogged, and the orbs that decorate its rim are grimy. But to Zoya, Christopher, Riya, Dalai, Noelle, and Jacob, it’s a place that inspires them to create, all in different ways. All six have a special talent, and they meet at the fountain to enjoy their friendship. When the mayor threatens to cancel the New Year’s festival because the fountain is so old and broken, the kids restore their fountain, and it magically gives them each a wish—and a journey to different New Year’s celebrations around the world. Though each child has a different heritage, beautifully emphasized in the illustrations by their clothing choices, the architecture of the buildings in Gokul village, and the religious symbols they restore to the fountain, the text doesn’t make their diversity feel unusual. Instead, appreciating one another’s cultures is the norm. Oddly, the New Year’s celebrations listed happen at different times of year (Chinese New Year, Diwali, and New Year’s Eve), making the village’s resulting New Year’s celebration mixed up rather than multicultural.
The vibrant colors and kid-friendly character design are sure to draw kids; librarians and parents will applaud the celebration of teamwork and normalized cultural diversity.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-692-91738-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Big Bold Beautiful World Media
Review Posted Online: Oct. 2, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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