Graceful, kind, and altogether soothing.
Alice and Gert, two anthropomorphic insects, exhibit different work ethics.
With a nod to the relationship between Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas (seen in the author’s dedication statement), this enchanting picture book from Canada tells the story of artistic Gert, a “sweet, flighty” grasshopper, and Alice, a hardworking ant. Gert spends the beautiful summer days soaking up the sunshine and cajoling Alice—who endlessly schleps food to her nest in preparation for the lean days of winter—to “relax and enjoy this fine weather.” Alice reminds Gert of winter’s looming onset, but Gert brushes her off in an affectionate way. For her own part, Gert livens up Alice’s hardworking days by composing and performing a song for her and acting out a pirate play she wrote (accompanied by delightfully droll spot illustrations). When the inevitable season of winter comes, Gert wakes up to the consequences of her actions. But after a gentle remonstrance, Alice repays Gert’s entertainment with generosity. The storyline is quiet, but it is sound and solid, and while the narrative speaks linearly, the whimsical illustrations round out the story with depth and nuance. The ant and the grasshopper are softly rendered and oh-so-subtly animated (most especially by the engaging luminosity in their big bug eyes), and insects never looked so cuddly. The soft, pale, earth-toned palette is as easy on the eyes as the gentle story is on the mind.
Graceful, kind, and altogether soothing. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-77147-358-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
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
Whether spoken by a dinosaur or a human, this parental message clearly radiates “I’ve loved you from the start.”
The cover’s glowing golden stars are but a small hint of the parent-child love inside.
In this companion book to the creators’ I Love You, My Little Unicorn (2022), a world full of digitally created dinosaurs illustrated in eye-catching colors dominates the pages. From the start, it’s clear that dinosaur parents have the same hopes and dreams for their offspring that human parents do. Readers don’t have to be dinosaur fans to smile when the parent-and-child dinosaur pairs playfully interact and share loving glances. Take special note of the ankylosauruses, whose tails arc to form a heart beneath a sky filled with heart-shaped clouds. The text in verse shares words of unconditional parental love and support and wisdom (“please remember all these things / that I want you to know”), appropriate for humans and dinos alike. “Roar with all your might!” “Spread your wings and fly.” “Use your voice, and ask for help.” There’s even a caveat that some “days will be dark / and other shades of gray.” But “there’s always brightness up ahead.” While the loving sentiments in the storytelling are clear, words are sometimes inverted to make the rhyme work, and the verse doesn’t always follow a consistent meter, but prereading will let the story shine during quiet snuggle times.
Whether spoken by a dinosaur or a human, this parental message clearly radiates “I’ve loved you from the start.” (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781728268361
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
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