Truly wonderful in all aspects.
A little wolf learns there is more to life than accumulating knowledge in this Canadian import first published in the Netherlands.
Little Wise Wolf is known for his love of reading big books and for his knowledge. But when the other animals in the forest come to him with their questions—“What do butterflies eat?”; “How many stars are in the sky?”—Little Wise Wolf doesn’t open his door. He tells himself he has too much to learn, too many big books to read, to take time to help. Then one day, the king’s crow summons him to the castle to heal the ailing king, and he reluctantly begins the long journey to the castle. Unbeknownst to him, his animal neighbors are following, and when Little Wise Wolf gets weary and becomes lost, they rescue him with a tent and food and a fire. Humbled by their gestures of compassion and friendship, Little Wise Wolf realizes that maybe he isn’t so wise after all. This endearing story is exquisite on many levels. The text is crisp and warm, and the illustrations, composed of translucent layers of earthy tones that evoke a textural, harmonious atmosphere, are sublime. There’s a bit of hide-and-seek going on with placement of the animals that will intrigue, and the flashes of bright red—most prominently in Little Wise Wolf’s boots—are brilliantly conceived visual accents to keep the eye engaged. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9.7-by-23.4-inch double-page spreads viewed at 26% of actual size.)
Truly wonderful in all aspects. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5253-0549-8
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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
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