Although the poems vary in quality, and few really stand out, this collection will enliven holiday units and programs in...
With 24 poems—by Neruda, Longfellow, Emerson and Issa, as well as many contemporary children’s poets from Britain and the United States—this collection focuses on holidays celebrated in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Arranged month by month, it includes many cultural groups that now live in these places. Because it was published in the United Kingdom, there are some omissions that U.S. audiences will notice. While La Tomatima, a Spanish tomato-throwing festival, is included (with a Neruda poem that mentions Chile), there are no Latin American festivals represented. Native Americans are left out too, although there are a few children wearing feathers in the Thanksgiving picture, an illustration that does feature a multiracial celebration. Sikhs, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Jews are all represented. The busily populated collage, watercolor and colored-pencil pictures are joyful and often humorous, but the snowman in the Hanukkah illustration that wears payes (side curls worn by Hasidic men) and a fedora may strike some as strange, and the Caribbean Carnival dancers may seem scantily clad (although realistic). The descriptions of the holidays are informative, although some additional information about the various calendars and a bibliography would be helpful.
Although the poems vary in quality, and few really stand out, this collection will enliven holiday units and programs in schools, libraries and religious institutions. (Poetry. 6-12)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-84780-087-9
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: Aug. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Broad and subtle in turn—verse to stay with readers for years to come.
A tasty mix of visionary and nonsense verses, lavishly illustrated by a recent Caldecott Medalist.
Systematically gathered into seven loosely thematic groups, the poems, likewise tidy of rhyme and scansion, range from meditations on “Zero” and the many colors of the sky to silly wordplay (“What kind of pizza / do you like to eatsa?”) and a droll paean to pasta that rhymes spaghetti with yeti. The notion of flying away almost serves as a running theme; in various entries, a piñata, a child on “Jetpack Sneakers,” a breaching whale, and, for a moment, a boy waking to a sparrow’s song take off into the sky. Salati depicts a menagerie of creatures both real and imaginary that share space with a rich and racially diverse assortment of small figures who often resemble Maurice Sendak’s Nutshell Library outtakes for their large-headed, stubby-limbed looks and balletic poses. The entries are lighthearted overall; several read like nursery rhymes. Burgess displays a keen intuition for what will get kids laughing—and what will make them think. One poem, perhaps a reference to current politics, invites them to “leave the shouters with their schemes / while we continue with our dreams,” while another urges them to “live your dream / Reign supreme / King or queen / or something / delightfully / in between.”
Broad and subtle in turn—verse to stay with readers for years to come. (index) (Poetry. 7-11)Pub Date: March 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781774880289
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
Poet Alexander deftly reveals the power of the format to pack an emotional punch.
Basketball-playing twins find challenges to their relationship on and off the court as they cope with changes in their lives.
Josh Bell and his twin, Jordan, aka JB, are stars of their school basketball team. They are also successful students, since their educator mother will stand for nothing else. As the two middle schoolers move to a successful season, readers can see their differences despite the sibling connection. After all, Josh has dreadlocks and is quiet on court, and JB is bald and a trash talker. Their love of the sport comes from their father, who had also excelled in the game, though his championship was achieved overseas. Now, however, he does not have a job and seems to have health problems the parents do not fully divulge to the boys. The twins experience their first major rift when JB is attracted to a new girl in their school, and Josh finds himself without his brother. This novel in verse is rich in character and relationships. Most interesting is the family dynamic that informs so much of the narrative, which always reveals, never tells. While Josh relates the story, readers get a full picture of major and minor players. The basketball action provides energy and rhythm for a moving story.
Poet Alexander deftly reveals the power of the format to pack an emotional punch. (Verse fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-10771-7
Page Count: 240
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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