A call to action that’s sure to make an artist out of anyone.
Art making is distilled into simple steps—and a whole lotta fun.
Black “dots, lines, smudges, and scribbles” appear on a white background. An unseen narrator instructs readers to place their hands on the page to feel it “vibrate.” On the next page, the patterns have formed the shape of a hand—the “drawing hand”—as if the dots and lines are reacting to the actual hand that’s touched them. In typical Tullet fashion, subsequent pages allow readers to interact with the book and to make art by following simple instructions. First, kids are invited to use their fingers to drag and drop red, blue, and yellow dots onto little marked x’s to make “a whole dance of dots!” and, later, a flower. Readers are asked to draw lines and then scribbles. Each prompt ends with bold, black lines transforming the project into a flower—even after some surprising twists. Encouraging phrases such as “Brilliant!” and “Bravo, bravo!” cheer readers on throughout. The inclusion of smudges and other imperfections beautifully provides nonverbal support for the affirmations. Tullet has molded a familiar formula into something both fun and meaningful. By starting simple and moving on to more abstract techniques, the book represents a scaffolded lesson at its best. The open-ended conclusion brilliantly takes art out of flower territory and opens a Pandora’s box of creativity.
A call to action that’s sure to make an artist out of anyone. (Interactive picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9781797232584
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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