A mix of fact and fiction, this is a lovely tribute to the muse of music. In the summer of 1893, the composer Anton Dvorák traveled with his family to Spillville, Iowa, a town settled by people from his homeland of Czechoslovakia. A bird called a Scarlet Tanager also made a journey to Spillville, and when the two met, beautiful music was made. Schaefer (Down in the Woods at Sleepytime, 2000, etc.) tells the story of Dvorák’s search for the elusive bird whose song had captured his imagination. He wandered the countryside, listening to the sounds of nature that inspired his music—sounds that ripple across the pages of the book. Meanwhile, the bird found a mate, built a nest, sang with its ladylove, and trilled messages to the other birds. Within days of his arrival, Dvorák filled a notebook, and his shirt cuffs, with musical notes—his American Quartet. And as the four musicians played the new piece of music, the Scarlet Tanager heard the sound of his own song, and stopped in the window to sing along for just a moment. Rosen’s (The Soul of Africa, 2000, etc.) oil paintings truly bring this story to life. Her bold brush strokes and bright colors are reminiscent of Van Gogh, and bring a warm feeling to the entire story. The author’s note fills in the details of Dvorák’s trip to Spillville. What a wonderful way to introduce children to the world of music, and to the inspiration that is all around them. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-81022-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
One of the watershed moments in African-American history—the defeat of James Braddock at the hands of Joe Louis—is here given an earnest picture-book treatment. Despite his lack of athletic ability, Sammy wants desperately to be a great boxer, like his hero, getting boxing lessons from his friend Ernie in exchange for help with schoolwork. However hard he tries, though, Sammy just can’t box, and his father comforts him, reminding him that he doesn’t need to box: Joe Louis has shown him that he “can be the champion at anything [he] want[s].” The high point of this offering is the big fight itself, everyone crowded around the radio in Mister Jake’s general store, the imagined fight scenes played out in soft-edged sepia frames. The main story, however, is so bent on providing Sammy and the reader with object lessons that all subtlety is lost, as Mister Jake, Sammy’s father, and even Ernie hammer home the message. Both text and oil-on-canvas-paper illustrations go for the obvious angle, making the effort as a whole worthy, but just a little too heavy-handed. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 2004
ISBN: 1-58430-161-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
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