Fans of fairy tales as well as adults looking to reinforce lessons in how to create and sustain happiness from within will...
Sulky Princess Rosie is only happy when there are rainbows in the sky.
Determined to please the little princess, her parents offer a bag of gold to anyone who can bring her a “forever rainbow.” People come from far and wide, offering rainbows of all types. But Princess Rosie remains disappointed, for none of them are real. The Royal Astronomer has better luck, placing a glass of water on a windowsill, at least until the clouds roll in and the rainbow vanishes. (A backmatter activity extends this lesson.) Finally, Becca, “the Wise Teacher of Farthest Village,” arrives and tells the princess that the rainbows live inside her and that she can enjoy them whenever she wishes. The princess’s unrealistic expectations and dour disposition don’t make her a very sympathetic character, and in the end, she seems too easily persuaded, rendering the resolution unconvincing. The lesson, though, is a good one: true happiness comes from inside, from focusing on the things and people we hold in our hearts. Soft, intricately detailed illustrations accompany the text, helping to establish a believable fairy-tale universe for Rosie and her family to inhabit.
Fans of fairy tales as well as adults looking to reinforce lessons in how to create and sustain happiness from within will appreciate this well-meaning effort. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-937786-44-1
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Wisdom Tales
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2015
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
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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