Perhaps a choice for regional audiences but not a book for everyone.
Delphine Denise Debreaux wants to win the grand prize for the best Mardi Gras float and nearly loses some friends in the process.
Every year Delphine Denise, presenting as Black, and a group of friends (Anna Louise, Xavier, and Theodore) march in the Mardi Gras parade. They decorate their bikes with balloons and purple, gold, and green streamers, and together they bake and enjoy king cake. When they learn that the grand prize for the best Mardi Gras float is a crown, Delphine Denise becomes obsessed with winning. Anna Louise, Xavier, and Theodore are not concerned with victory and merely want to hang out. When the big day arrives, Delphine Denise steers a towering float along the route until it begins to topple. Stuck in the middle of the street with a busted float, Delphine Denise spots Xavier, Anna Louise, and Theodore having fun and brainstorms a way to salvage the day. This book lacks appeal for readers who are not familiar with Mardi Gras. The illustrations do a fine job of incorporating the colors of Mardi Gras, but the scenes of the parade are sparse and uninteresting. The text notes that “crowds on both sides of the street are ready to catch colorful beads and shiny coins,” but the few people in those spreads can hardly be considered a crowd—something child readers will certainly notice.
Perhaps a choice for regional audiences but not a book for everyone. (author's note, glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-8075-1548-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child...
Imani endures the insults heaped upon her by the other village children, but she never gives up her dreams.
The Masai girl is tiny compared to the other children, but she is full of imagination and perseverance. Luckily, she has a mother who believes in her and tells her stories that will fuel that imagination. Mama tells her about the moon goddess, Olapa, who wins over the sun god. She tells Imani about Anansi, the trickster spider who vanquishes a larger snake. (Troublingly, the fact that Anansi is a West African figure, not of the Masai, goes unaddressed in both text and author’s note.) Inspired, the tiny girl tries to find new ways to achieve her dream: to touch the moon. One day, after crashing to the ground yet again when her leafy wings fail, she is ready to forget her hopes. That night, she witnesses the adumu, the special warriors’ jumping dance. Imani wakes the next morning, determined to jump to the moon. After jumping all day, she reaches the moon, meets Olapa and receives a special present from the goddess, a small moon rock. Now she becomes the storyteller when she relates her adventure to Mama. The watercolor-and-graphite illustrations have been enhanced digitally, and the night scenes of storytelling and fantasy with their glowing stars and moons have a more powerful impact than the daytime scenes, with their blander colors.
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child to be admired. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-934133-57-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Mackinac Island Press
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader!
Fun with friends makes for a great day.
Norbit, a salmon-colored worm with a pink kerchief, joyfully greets the day and everyone he encounters. “Hello, friends! It’s time for fun with the sun! Let’s play!” He and his menagerie of forest pals—including the sun, who grows limbs and descends from the sky—exuberantly engage in various forms of physical activity such as jumping, going down a slide, spinning around, and watching the clouds go by. Young readers will readily relate, as these are games that most children are familiar with. As day turns to night, Norbit says farewell to Sun and welcomes Moon with an invitation to continue the fun. Watkins has created a vivid world of movement and merriment. Her illustrations feature bright bursts of color that match the energy of the text, with most sentences ending in an exclamation point. The author/illustrator incorporates many elements that make for an ideal early-reading experience (despite the use of a contraction or two): art free from clutter, text consisting of words with only one or two syllables, and repetition and recurring bits, such as a continued game of hide-and-seek with Sun. Inspired by never-before-seen sketches from the Dr. Seuss Collection archives at the University of California San Diego, this is the first title for Seuss Studios, a new imprint for original stories from “emerging authors and illustrators” who “honor Seuss’s hallmark spirit of creativity and imagination.”
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader! (author's note) (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780593646212
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Seuss Studios
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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