More relevant, possibly more entertaining, and certainly more appropriate than the originals.
Witty remixed nursery rhymes give little girls power, purpose, and presence.
The original version of the nursery rhyme “Georgie Porgie” has not aged well. To kiss a girl and make her cry smacks of harassment. Author Willis gives the young White girl a voice, telling Georgie: “Don’t kiss me unless I say!” Many well-known nursery rhymes are here similarly reworked: Humpty Dumpty has a Black woman doctor; instead of wringing her hands over her lost sheep, Little Bo Peep (a pale-skinned girl with a long, brown braid) rescues them from a pit of slime. With laugh-out-loud humor, the equitable spin refocuses these traditional vignettes. Knowing the originals intensifies the impact but is not necessary. With a sophisticated color palette and clever visuals, Follath’s precise illustrations bolster the rewordings; readers will lose themselves in the detail and the content. Inherent in these poems is the kernel of truth that girls can choose to do or be anything. For that matter, boys can, too. Although this title keeps gender clearly binary, this diverse bunch of girls can choose to be fairy queens or crocodiles. The very last lines turn the spotlight on a dancing Black boy, capturing the essence of empowerment: “Ray is dancing a ballet—we play what we want to play!”
More relevant, possibly more entertaining, and certainly more appropriate than the originals. (Picture book/poetry. 3-8)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1733-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
Wow.
The stories of the births of the universe, the planet Earth, and a human child are told in this picture book.
Bauer begins with cosmic nothing: “In the dark / in the deep, deep dark / a speck floated / invisible as thought / weighty as God.” Her powerful words build the story of the creation of the universe, presenting the science in poetic free verse. First, the narrative tells of the creation of stars by the Big Bang, then the explosions of some of those stars, from which dust becomes the matter that coalesces into planets, then the creation of life on Earth: a “lucky planet…neither too far / nor too near…its yellow star…the Sun.” Holmes’ digitally assembled hand-marbled paper-collage illustrations perfectly pair with the text—in fact the words and illustrations become an inseparable whole, as together they both delineate and suggest—the former telling the story and the latter, with their swirling colors suggestive of vast cosmos, contributing the atmosphere. It’s a stunning achievement to present to readers the factual events that created the birth of the universe, the planet Earth, and life on Earth with such an expressive, powerful creativity of words paired with illustrations so evocative of the awe and magic of the cosmos. But then the story goes one brilliant step further and gives the birth of a child the same beginning, the same sense of magic, the same miracle.
Wow. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7883-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
A boon for beaver storytimes or young naturalists living near beaver streams.
Readers learn about a keystone species and the habitat they create.
In a “House That Jack Built” style (though minus the cumulative repetition), Sonenshine introduces children to beavers. Beginning with a beaver who’s just gnawed down a willow near their lodge, the author moves on to the dam that blocks the stream and protects their domed home and then to the yearlings that are working to repair it with sticks and mud. Muskrats and a musk turtle take advantage of the safety of the beavers’ lodge, while Coyote tries (and fails) to breach it. Then the book turns to other animals that enjoy the benefits of the pond the beavers have created: goose, ducklings, heron, moose. While the beavers aren’t in all these illustrations, evidence of them is. And then suddenly a flood takes out both the dam and the beavers’ lodge. So, the beavers move upstream to find a new spot to dam and build again, coming full circle back to the beginning of the book. Hunter’s ink-and–colored pencil illustrations have a scratchy style that is well suited to the beavers’ pelts, their watery surroundings, and the other animals that share their habitat. Careful observers will be well rewarded by the tiny details. Beavers are mostly nocturnal, which isn’t always faithfully depicted by Hunter. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A boon for beaver storytimes or young naturalists living near beaver streams. (beaver facts, glossary, further resources) (Informational picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1868-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
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