Humble and lovely.
A small girl named Beatrix Potter spends her childhood painting.
Born to wealthy parents on July 28, 1866, in London, Beatrix spends her time with nannies and tutors “in the upstairs nursery, away from the activities of the grown-ups.” This doesn’t look as lonely as it sounds, though: Beatrix is contentedly painting, with great focus, from the very first page. Across from the first illustration, underneath the text, a tiny paint box and water jar look as tempting as anything could. Quietly, McPhail tells how Beatrix fashions sketchbooks out of paper and string, painting pictures of her pets, her brother’s pets, and nature overall: rabbit, mouse, lizard, toadstools, countryside. She paints to cope with sadness when her brother leaves for school; she paints in her own style, dismissing lessons. Eventually, growing older, she writes and draws what will become The Tale of Peter Rabbit. “Little books for little hands,” she says, insisting that her published books take a diminutive trim, and while this biography isn’t as small as those, it is still comfortably small. A few spreads are full-bleed, but most of the pictures are squared, nesting cozily inside white frames. Soft yet lush watercolors and fine lines create an old-fashioned feeling, and Beatrix herself resembles an early Maurice Sendak character.
Humble and lovely. (Picture book/biography. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9170-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The action of this rhymed and humorous tale centers upon a mouse who "took a stroll/through the deep dark wood./A fox saw the mouse/and the mouse looked good." The mouse escapes being eaten by telling the fox that he is on his way to meet his friend the gruffalo (a monster of his imagination), whose favorite food is roasted fox. The fox beats a hasty retreat. Similar escapes are in store for an owl and a snake; both hightail it when they learn the particulars: tusks, claws, terrible jaws, eyes orange, tongue black, purple prickles on its back. When the gruffalo suddenly materializes out of the mouse's head and into the forest, the mouse has to think quick, declaring himself inedible as the "scariest creature in the deep dark wood," and inviting the gruffalo to follow him to witness the effect he has on the other creatures. When the gruffalo hears that the mouse's favorite food is gruffalo crumble, he runs away. It's a fairly innocuous tale, with twists that aren't sharp enough and treachery that has no punch. Scheffler's funny scenes prevent the suspense from culminating; all his creatures, predator and prey, are downright lovable. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: June 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8037-2386-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1999
SEEN & HEARD
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