A magical moment, enhanced by strongly atmospheric illustrations.
Does the Loch Ness monster eat pancakes?
Young Rhona is about to find out. Her beloved, if eccentric, uncle Allister’s plan to lure the legendary creature out of hiding hinges on the sweet breakfast treat—surely the monster won’t be able to resist Allister’s pancakes? When Rhona accompanies him out onto the loch in his fishing boat, she finds herself in just the right spot for a wondrous encounter. Martens sets the stage properly with misty views of a boat just large enough to have an enclosed galley, floating over kaleidoscopic wavelets and shadows that underscore senses of great depth and otherworldly realms just beyond sight. Fortuitously, Rhona is alone on the deck when the loch’s immense but peaceable resident actually does rear up, close enough to lock eyes with Rhona and share a moment of intimate connection before slipping away while the child distracts her oblivious uncle. Allister has long been a believer and has frequently regaled his niece with tales of sightings, but in the wake of her questions about whether monsters are real (and even if they are, why anyone would want to catch one), he eventually admits that perhaps she’s right to be skeptical. Attentive readers of this tale, translated from Dutch, will note that while Rhona now believes in monsters, her belief that they deserve their freedom remains unwavering. She and her uncle are light-skinned.
A magical moment, enhanced by strongly atmospheric illustrations. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2024
ISBN: 9798890630872
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Clavis
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
A sweetly fantastic addition to the early-reader shelf.
A little phoenix gets in touch with his feelings.
When Flare is born in a burst of flame, he, like all phoenixes, doesn’t have parents. But Cloud, Wind and Sun watch over him, and he’s a scrappy fellow who teaches himself how to fish and fly. When things go wrong, he sings a little song: “I am tough. / I am strong. / I do not cry.” Sun, Wind and Cloud worry that Flare is perhaps a bit too tough for his own good and decide to coax him toward greater sensitivity. First Cloud models crying by raining, and then Wind wails and howls. Instead of being inspired to soften up a bit and shed some tears of his own, Flare is repelled. Then Sun shines a path through the forest, leading Flare to a baby bird that has fallen from its nest and hurt its wing. The little bird cries in pain, and empathy finally moves Flare to tears as well. In a happy twist, the little phoenix’s tears magically heal the baby bird. While perhaps a bit heavy-handed (must Flare cry if he’s really doing OK?), the text is accessible. Throughout, Côté’s lively illustrations reinforce meaning from one brief chapter to the next, loose lines and broad swathes of color communicating energy and fun.
A sweetly fantastic addition to the early-reader shelf. (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-927018-50-7
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Simply Read
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
Dragon lovers—and all who enjoy being teased by playful disconnects between text and pictures—will be plenty happy indeed.
A mouse’s repeated and resolute denial of dragons is sorely tested by one fiery disaster after another.
Stoutly refusing to notice the outsized claws, fanged muzzles, spiked tails, and jagged shadows visible in each illustration, the minuscule narrator marches through a smoky forest, past a house that is converted to flaming wreckage on the next page, and through a town whose residents (of diverse species and skin colors) flee fiery destruction. Eventually the titular claim rings hollow even to the mouse, who then frantically tries to prevent readers from turning the page: “NOOOOOOO!” As if. And, indeed, the following spread is “FULL OF DRAGONS!”: horned, toothy, and gleefully pursuing the hapless narrator. Starting with “crumpled paper and various incendiary devices,” Koehler creates a set of brightly colored dragons set in singed collage scenes and closes with the mouse resentfully erasing the “Not” from a reproduction of the volume’s cover: “I hope you are happy.” Display type with jagged edges that emulate licking flames is a nice touch, as are the faux holes stray embers have burnt through the pages.
Dragon lovers—and all who enjoy being teased by playful disconnects between text and pictures—will be plenty happy indeed. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-62979-168-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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