Beautifully transcends its seeming simplicity.
Economically drawn and narrated, this translated work from Korea spotlights a bear cub’s naïveté and determination.
An italicized, scene-setting line of text appears against a page depicting snow, tall conifers, and the bear cub’s tracks: “Baby bear got up early, by himself.” “Tok”—a red fruit bounces off the hungry cub’s head. Finding the morsel delicious, the bear declares, “I want to eat more.” He begins to climb, successively encountering three red shapes that initially appear to be more tantalizing fruit but reveal themselves to be a caterpillar, a squirrel, and a beehive. As the cub climbs, the perspective shifts between close- and mid-range spreads and long views of his diminutive form amid the pine forest. At the very top, the bear sees “nothing.” But the setting sun’s red blaze tints the branches, catching his eye. “It looks delicious!” Leaping, he falls—first, backlit against the huge orb, then past beehive, squirrel, and caterpillar into the voluminous embrace of a parent, waiting with two other cubs and piles of red fruit. Rendered in inky, grainy gradations of gray-to-black, accented with red and yellow, Lee’s pictures capture the forest’s beauty, evoking traditional brush painting. The bears’ spreading pads and claws seem as significant as their physiognomy—which nonetheless quietly conveys sensations of curiosity, satiety, surprise, and (in the parent bear) implacable aplomb. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Beautifully transcends its seeming simplicity. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2023
ISBN: 9781646147007
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Levine Querido
Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
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