A sympathetic hero, engaging illustrations, and a strong message make this book a must-have for families, schools, and...
In Polansky’s debut book for young readers, ospreys are kings of the air. So what happens to a young osprey who’s afraid to fly?
This book tells the story of young Oscar the osprey from the very first moments of his life (“it took a while before I could see anything without squinting,” he says). While still a chick, he has the traumatic experience of almost falling out of his nest, and from that moment on, he grapples with crippling anxiety about heights—a serious handicap for a creature designed to fly in order to fish, migrate, and make his home in trees. Necessity is the mother of invention, so Oscar methodologically figures out how to live life with his disability and how to survive mostly alone when the other ospreys migrate south for the winter. The book is divided into chapters, and although they’re unnumbered and there’s no table of contents, it has the slimness and large pages of a picture book. It also has copious illustrations by Rosow, whose expressive line drawings are wonderfully reminiscent of both Jules Feiffer and Shel Silverstein. The book’s format may prove confounding for readers, or the parents of readers, seeking books for specific reading levels. However, its refusal to fit into neat categories is characteristic of its protagonist. In the end, this isn’t a story about Oscar forcing himself to change in order to fit into the way the world works. Rather than triumphing in a predictable way over his limitations, Oscar intriguingly learns to adapt to them and even turn them into strengths. He finds that his unique perspective gives him special abilities that are valued by his family and friends: “I never could fly above a low level without squinting….One thing was certain though; at a low level, I was the best there was.”
A sympathetic hero, engaging illustrations, and a strong message make this book a must-have for families, schools, and communities with differently abled kids.Pub Date: June 2, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5049-1010-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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BOOK REVIEW
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