The illustrations are what make this latest edition of Edward Lear’s classic poem about two unlikely lovers worth a second look. Although several editions interpreted by different illustrators exist, there may be room for one more, especially since this poem hasn’t been redone as often as some other childhood chestnuts. The text is Lear’s own, but the collage illustrations provide a modern, textured look that other editions do not. Whimsical colors and patterns awaken the imagination, particularly in the land of the “Bong-trees”; after all, everyone knows what a cat, an owl, and a boat look like, but an illustrator has free reign to portray the imaginary trees any way he or she sees fit. Here, they are suitably fantastic oval shapes growing in pink and red grass, adorned with stylized swirls and leaf patterns in turquoise, purple, red, yellow, and orange. The “Piggy-wig” with the ring in his nose that the owl and pussycat find there is larger than life, covering an entire spread, in bright, bubble-gum pink. Seas are purple, skies are blue, purple, red, or yellow, sometimes adorned with stars in contrasting colors; sand is bright orange. The riotous colors and patterns reflect the joy of the love story and the fun of the nonsense verse, and breathe new life into a classic. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: April 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-8118-3903-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A lushly illustrated homage to librarians who provide a welcome and a home away from home for all who enter.
A love letter to libraries.
A Black child, with hair in two puffballs tied with yellow ribbons, a blue dress with a Peter Pan collar, and black patent leather Mary Janes, helps Grandmother with the housework, then, at Grandmother’s suggestion, heads to the library. The child’s eagerness to go, with two books under an arm and one in their hand, suggests that this is a favorite destination. The books’ wordless covers emphasize their endless possibilities. The protagonist’s description of the library makes clear that they are always free to be themselves there—whether they feel happy or sad, whether they’re reading mysteries or recipes, and whether they feel “quick and smart” or “contained and cautious.” Robinson’s vibrant, carefully composed digital illustrations, with bright colors that invite readers in and textures and patterns in every image, effectively capture the protagonist’s passion for reading and appreciation for a space where they feel accepted regardless of disposition. In her author’s note, Giovanni states that she spent summers visiting her grandmother in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she went to the Carnegie Branch of the Lawson McGhee Library. She expresses gratitude for Mrs. Long, the librarian, who often traveled to the main library to get books that Giovanni could not find in their segregated branch. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A lushly illustrated homage to librarians who provide a welcome and a home away from home for all who enter. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-358-38765-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Versify/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
This heavily earnest celebration of multi-ethnicity combines full-bleed paintings of smiling children, viewed through a golden haze dancing, playing, planting seedlings, and the like, with a hyperbolic, disconnected text—``Dark as leopard spots, light as sand,/Children buzz with laughter that kisses our land...''— printed in wavy lines. Literal-minded readers may have trouble with the author's premise, that ``Children come in all the colors of the earth and sky and sea'' (green? blue?), and most of the children here, though of diverse and mixed racial ancestry, wear shorts and T-shirts and seem to be about the same age. Hamanaka has chosen a worthy theme, but she develops it without the humor or imagination that animates her Screen of Frogs (1993). (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-688-11131-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1994
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