A little girl experiences the loss of her grandfather in this sad, sweet tale about death. Anna, a farmer’s granddaughter, learns how to hear the “corn make music” from Grandpa. Together during one of their walks through the cornfields, they listen to the wind traveling through the stalks. After she hears the music this creates, Anna’s grandfather gives her some corn kernels to plant the following spring and makes her promise that she will. The adult reader will probably know what’s coming next when, that winter, Anna’s grandfather dies. When spring arrives, Anna’s reluctant to plant the kernels. When her mother asks her why, Anna replies, “If I bury them, they’ll be gone forever.” Her mother says, “They won’t be gone, Anna. They’ll just be different.” Anna finally summons up the courage to plant the seeds and listens to her own “corn music.” She also takes a few kernels from the new stalks to plant the next year—a nice moment to suggest the cycle of life. Santucci’s (Loon Summer, not reviewed) style is straightforward and her simple language and realistic dialogue serve the subject matter well. The story doesn’t unearth any new insights on losing a loved one, but does provide an easy window through which to view grief. Bloom’s (When Uncle Took the Fiddle, 1999, etc.) classic colored pencils and pastels reflect the gentleness of the story. Most illustrations are not full spreads, making it better for an intimate read. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-8028-5119-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
Menacing and most likely to appeal to established fans of its co-creators.
Existing artwork from an artistic giant inspires a fairy-tale reimagination by a master of the horror genre.
In King’s interpretation of a classic Brothers Grimm story, which accompanies set and costume designs that the late Sendak created for a 1997 production of Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera, siblings Hansel and Gretel survive abandonment in the woods and an evil witch’s plot to gobble them up before finding their “happily ever after” alongside their father. Prose with the reassuring cadence of an old-timey tale, paired with Sendak’s instantly recognizable artwork, will lull readers before capitalizing on these creators’ knack for injecting darkness into seemingly safe spaces. Gaping faces loom in crevices of rocks and trees, and a gloomy palette of muted greens and ocher amplify the story’s foreboding tone, while King never sugarcoats the peach-skinned children’s peril. Branches with “clutching fingers” hide “the awful enchanted house” of a “child-stealing witch,” all portrayed in an eclectic mix of spot and full-bleed images. Featuring insults that might strike some as harsh (“idiot,” “fool”), the lengthy, dense text may try young readers’ patience, and the often overwhelmingly ominous mood feels more pitched to adults—particularly those familiar with King and Sendak—but an introduction acknowledges grandparents as a likely audience, and nostalgia may prompt leniency over an occasional disconnect between words and art.
Menacing and most likely to appeal to established fans of its co-creators. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9780062644695
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2025
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
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