A gallery of diminutive delights—but the appeal is superficial at best.
A little world tour of little things—from the smallest sea horse to the largest model railway.
With a small trim size suitable to the topic and diminutive narrative type to match (the latter not always a good idea, particularly when the background color is dark brown or purple), this gathering offers armchair travelers a small-scale mix of natural and constructed minimarvels on each continent. The 20 entries are placed on introductory and inset maps, and they’re depicted with miniscule exactitude in painted illustrations—many of these featuring a pair of avid young white tourists to show relative size. But for all that readers will come away with a yen to see the world’s smallest teddy bears in South Korea’s Teddy Bear Museum or play minigolf under black lights in Berlin, not to mention understanding the importance of krill to the Antarctic marine ecosystems, as a travel guide it’s all rather arbitrary and rough-hewn. Many creatures and sites appear on the introductory maps but nowhere else; there are no leads to more information about any of the selected wonders; and measurements throughout are in a casual mix of metric and English units.
A gallery of diminutive delights—but the appeal is superficial at best. (Nonfiction. 8-10)Pub Date: March 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-84780-909-4
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Wide Eyed Editions
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Though certainly not a systematic overview of Picasso’s life and career, this intimate, child’s-eye view serves up a winning...
“Picasso was great fun to play with. He liked to romp around on the floor and have pretend bullfights. His tweed jacket was nice and scratchy. He smelled good too. He smelled of cologne and French tobacco.”
To a set of seldom-seen photos taken by his mother, Lee Miller, interspersed with both pictures of roughly hewn toys and playful art created by Picasso and a page of drawings of the titular incident by modern children, Penrose adds appreciative comments and authentically sketchy childhood memories of a renowned family friend. Taken in France and England, the photos offer glimpses of the artist in his studio or posing with young Antony, along with shots of his own children, other friends such as George Braque and artwork done in a characteristic array of media and found materials. Images of colorful works from the author’s personal collection are added as well; the author's little Noah's Ark set appears juxtaposed to a tiny Picasso piece called Mrs. Noah, for instance. The text itself adds playful notes with variations in size and weight, along with occasional wavy lines and is set on solid backgrounds of pale blues, yellows, lilacs and other pastel hues.
Though certainly not a systematic overview of Picasso’s life and career, this intimate, child’s-eye view serves up a winning glimpse of the artist’s personality and unparalleled creative breadth. (glossary, thumbnail bios) (Memoir. 8-10)Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8109-9728-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
BOOK TO SCREEN
This ageless trickster tale has a nicely subversive message, but this rendition lacks the panache to carry it off.
A wooden retelling of Perrault’s classic tale, with underwhelming movable parts.
Gurney embellishes the original plotline only by furnishing the Ogre with a back story (provided in a very small pasted-in booklet) and bestowing names on the kingdom and most of the characters. Her prose stumbles (“Puss pondered over [sic] the problem of Peter’s livelihood”), and her dialogue runs to stilted lines like, “We have seen your idea of work, Peter—it is to sit around all day playing your harmonica and idling.” Illustrator Kelley does his best to add plenty of visual panache, crafting painted scenes featuring a swashbuckling ginger puss plainly akin to the scene stealer from Shrek and cleverly manipulating a Disney-esque human cast. Such movable additions as a turn-able water wheel, a pull tab that makes Puss lick his chops after devouring the ogre and even a culminating pop-up wedding tableau are, at best, routine, and they often feel like afterthoughts, enhancing neither the art nor the story.
This ageless trickster tale has a nicely subversive message, but this rendition lacks the panache to carry it off. (Pop-up fairy tale. 8-10)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7641-6485-9
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Barron's
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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