An imaginative, visually dynamic picture book that playfully touts the advantages—and even pleasures—of just getting things...
Who wouldn’t want a “handy stand-in” to take over life’s most tedious tasks? Lincoln Green, part-time cowboy, calls his mirror reflection You Know Who, and he makes him do you-know-what—the dirty work.
Lincoln Green can “grab some shuteye” and “shoot the breeze” while You Know Who waters the plants, does homework (albeit writing back-to-front as mirror reflections do), tidies up and takes on all the other chores Lincoln Green’s mom says “MUST BE DONE TODAY.” In Mackintosh’s stylized, cartoonish, pencil-sketch drawings, wishful thinking materializes in the most delightful way: Lincoln Green is identifiable as the carefree boy in the “L” sweater, and You Know Who is the industrious boy in the “reverse L” sweater. When You Know Who’s eventual rebellion starts to reflect badly on Lincoln Green, the petulant cowboy throws a boot at the mirror and cracks it. He can rake up the leaves himself! (Or perhaps—“Yip-yarr!”—his neighbor Billy will help rustle them up.) Surprise! Just tackling his tasks head-on proves easier—and more fun—than concocting an elaborate charade to avoid them, surely a lesson for all ages. The story jumps around a bit distractingly, but the premise is intriguing, and the whimsy quotient high, especially for keen-eyed observers.
An imaginative, visually dynamic picture book that playfully touts the advantages—and even pleasures—of just getting things done. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4197-0787-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2013
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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
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