by Christy Mandin ; illustrated by Christy Mandin ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2023
Underwhelming despite earnest efforts to inspire.
A metanarrative about creativity.
A gaggle of cute-as-a-button office supplies hatch a plan as an end-of-year writing assignment looms for Birdie, a light-skinned girl. While the pens, pencil, marker, ruler, and eraser all have fun names, they mostly act as an ensemble. These anthropomorphic Storytellers plant clues to help Birdie follow the three storytelling rules: Writers should pay close attention to the world around them, remember that putting something on the page is better than nothing, and know there’s only one person who can tell your story: you. Birdie, unaware of her magic helpers, struggles for inspiration and energy but acts on the hints. The dialogue is rendered in a chunky black font, while text in a plain font shares a play-by-play on some spreads. A palette of warm, bright hues and neatly shaded illustrations calms otherwise busy scenes. The actual issue of writer’s block could be lost on some children, but they can enjoy the familiar wonder of walking in a park, working at a messy creation station, and letting one’s imagination take flight. After meandering outside and working through an idea jar, Birdie is ultimately motivated by a simple Post-it note reading “What if….” While there is beauty in this simple solution, it does not spell visual or narrative intrigue for an already cerebral topic. For all the effort spilled onto these pages, nothing very interesting happens. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Underwhelming despite earnest efforts to inspire. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-304735-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
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by Christy Mandin ; illustrated by Christy Mandin
by Dev Petty ; illustrated by Lauren Eldridge ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 20, 2017
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
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by Dev Petty ; illustrated by Mike Boldt
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by Dev Petty ; illustrated by Ana Aranda
by Christina Soontornvat ; illustrated by Barbara Szepesi Szucs ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 25, 2019
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.
Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.
The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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by Christina Soontornvat ; illustrated by Isabel Roxas
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by Sarah Mlynowski & Christina Soontornvat ; illustrated by Maxine Vee
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