Charming Imogene is one of a kind, but the original is still the better work.
Imogene has many peculiarities, but she carries them with great aplomb.
She has a long history of growing, albeit temporarily, animal appendages. Her most famous animal accouterments were a huge rack of antlers and a lovely display of peacock feathers, as seen in Imogene’s Antlers (1985). She is a curious child, always eager to see what the day brings, perhaps more antlers or something new and different. When she wakes up with a giraffe’s long neck and horns, her family is “stupefied,” but she is delighted. In fact, she uses her new height to find her brother’s football and helps her neighbor’s kitten down from a tree. Another day she sports an elephant head and trunk, happily helping one of the servants water flowers. When she flies about on her butterfly wings, her mother reacts in anger and embarrassment to her daughter’s multiple transformations. Imogene relishes her uniqueness and uses it wisely and kindly. When Imogene returns to her normal self, everyone is ecstatic. But then something amazing and totally unexpected happens. Small has great fun resurrecting this iconic character. Sharp-eyed readers will notice toy animals that influence Imogene’s appearance. She and her family and neighbors present White and have a privileged status. Oddly, even though the cook and the kitchen maid have the same names as the White-appearing characters in the first book, here in at least one illustration they appear to be people of color, though the brownness of their skin varies from page to page—an unnecessary and off-putting change.
Charming Imogene is one of a kind, but the original is still the better work. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-12374-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
A sweet notion that falls flat.
A hit song reimagined as a book about parental love.
Featured in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 1, Perri’s “A Thousand Years” deals with the speaker’s fear of romantic love. In picture-book form, it explores a parent’s unwavering love for a child, who grows from an infant into a toddler over the course of the narrative. The caregiver expresses awe when the youngster learns to stand and fear that the child might fall while beginning to walk. “I have spent every day waiting for you,” the parent says. “Darling, don’t be afraid.” What the child might fear isn’t clear from the joyful balloon- and rainbow-filled illustrations. The story borders on cloying, and words that might work when sung and accompanied by music don’t sound fresh on the page: “Time goes by. / You grow ever stronger as you fly.” The refrain, however, is a lovely sentiment: “I have loved you for a thousand years. / I’ll love you for a thousand more.” Perri’s legion of fans may flock to this version, illustrated by Ruiz with sparkling stars, bubbles, and big-eyed toddlers, but it doesn’t hold together as a narrative or an ode, as it’s billed, and it’s a long way from the original song. The child is tan-skinned, the parent is lighter-skinned, and other characters are diverse.
A sweet notion that falls flat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9780593622599
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
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