This metaphor for death is just too metaphorical to succeed.
A brightly colored blob arrives in Flatland, makes relationships and builds a community, then leaves.
At the beginning of the story, Owuza is just a collection of concentric, digitally collaged, uneven circles—“no more than a speck.” He develops what look to be eyes, hair and a body, and he carries his heart in his outstretched hand. He finds friends in Flatland; they share stories and songs, create “beautiful things,” help and heal. Then one day, Owuza is gone from Flatland. The Flatlanders look for him but do not find him—until they reach out to one another, and “there, in the center of them all, was Owuza. In all that they shared, he was with them always.” Apparently written in response to the death of his daughter, Sayre’s tale strives to be elemental but ends up simply oblique. It never leaves the mythic plane it begins on, keeping readers at a distance. Children are unlikely to understand what’s going on with either Owuza’s departure or his “reappearance” among the Flatlanders. Emberley’s illustrations pop, placing rough-edged, circular yellow, turquoise, lime-green and fuchsia shapes against a terra-cotta background; in the reiteration of concentric shapes and dots, her designs echo Aboriginal art. In this way, they are an apt emotional and conceptual complement to the text, but they do little to illuminate it for young readers.
This metaphor for death is just too metaphorical to succeed. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-99129-350-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Two Little Birds
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2014
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers.
Echoing the meter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Ward uses catchy original rhymes to describe the variety of nests birds create.
Each sweet stanza is complemented by a factual, engaging description of the nesting habits of each bird. Some of the notes are intriguing, such as the fact that the hummingbird uses flexible spider web to construct its cup-shaped nest so the nest will stretch as the chicks grow. An especially endearing nesting behavior is that of the emperor penguin, who, with unbelievable patience, incubates the egg between his tummy and his feet for up to 60 days. The author clearly feels a mission to impart her extensive knowledge of birds and bird behavior to the very young, and she’s found an appealing and attractive way to accomplish this. The simple rhymes on the left page of each spread, written from the young bird’s perspective, will appeal to younger children, and the notes on the right-hand page of each spread provide more complex factual information that will help parents answer further questions and satisfy the curiosity of older children. Jenkins’ accomplished collage illustrations of common bird species—woodpecker, hummingbird, cowbird, emperor penguin, eagle, owl, wren—as well as exotics, such as flamingoes and hornbills, are characteristically naturalistic and accurate in detail.
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers. (author’s note, further resources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2116-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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