A kid traveling around the world in a box could be an imaginative premise for learning about various countries and cultures,...
Young Beauregard dreams of seeing the world but is afraid of air and ocean travel, in this rhyming picture book
He solves his problem by mailing himself in a big box to Finland, then Bali, and then Australia. Unfortunately, awkward text distracts from his adventure with an overuse of exclamation points and language that sounds forced to make the facile rhyming work. Mailing May, by Michael O. Tunnell (1997), is a more engaging, even true story of a child actually traveling in a mailed box. Maybe that’s not the point; Beauregard’s adventures could conceivably entertain and pique interest in these countries—although there’s not enough information to make this work, either. For example, young American readers aren’t likely to know a “didgeridoo” is not an animal but rather a musical instrument considered sacred in Aboriginal culture, but it’s included in a list of Australian fauna (“roos, / koalas, wallabies, didgeridoos”). Bassani’s colorful illustrations outlined in thin black line contain potentially interesting information; spreads reminiscent of tourist postcards feature icons for cultural or physical aspects of the nation placed on a map, but there are no details about the places and artifacts. The choice to portray Beauregard—a child from Alabama who has the same name as a Confederate general—as African-American is either cleverly subversive or simply uninformed.
A kid traveling around the world in a box could be an imaginative premise for learning about various countries and cultures, but it’s not sufficiently fleshed out here. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 17, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-486713-84-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flowerpot Press
Review Posted Online: March 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
A visually engaging but otherwise underwhelming take on a classic.
A retelling of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, set in the Alaskan tundra.
Prolific picture-book author and illustrator Brett depicts Alice with short black hair, tan skin, and a fur-lined parka, while Lewis Carroll’s well-known characters are recast in new guises: The Cheshire Cat and Queen of Hearts appear as a Smilodon (saber-toothed cat) and snowy owl, respectively. Progressing at a rapid-fire pace, the narrative follows key moments of the original plot, including Alice’s fall down the rabbit hole (located within a glacier here), her tea party with the Hatter and the March Hare (this time, with the Old Prospector and the Varying Hare), and a scene where several playing cards paint the roses red (instead, the cotton grass) at the Queen’s behest. Characteristic of Brett’s illustrative style, each spread is packed with detail. Observant readers will find much to explore, from the well-worn playing cards that line each page to the intricate Alaskan birds and mammals featured at every turn. Still, the hectic rhythm of the story might lose youngsters, and its ho-hum text flattens some of Carroll’s whimsy. Adults may be disappointed that Brett has chosen to highlight only the area’s animals and colonial history (the Prospector hearkens back to Alaska’s history of colonial encroachment), with no explicit mention of the land’s rich Indigenous nations and cultures.
A visually engaging but otherwise underwhelming take on a classic. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Nov. 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780593533888
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2024
Powered by whimsy and nostalgia, a doggone adorable tale of superheroes transforming the world for the better.
Can flying puppies, fueled by people’s hugs, save the world from gloom?
Light-skinned Snarly McBummerpants is busy sending out Mopey Smokes (evil-looking dark brown clouds) from his volcano on the Island of Woe to create a sad state of affairs. But the caped puppies, each equipped with a rocket and hailing from “the outer reaches of NOT-FROM-HERE,” use their abilities to conquer the morose McBummerpants and bring happiness back to everyone’s lives. The meticulously detailed illustrations carry the story, dark colors turning to rainbow hues and frowns turning to smiles. From Big Brad to Tiny Brad, the smallest, most powerful puppy, who “[licks] a kiss right on the tip of Snarly McBummerpants’s nose,” these absolutely endearing pooches elicit a universal “AWWWWWWWWWW!” from all who encounter them. Joyce’s witty illustrations depict diverse children and adults who appear to hail from different decades. Two teenagers wear the bobby socks and saddle shoes of the 1940s and ’50s and sit atop a retro soda cooler. Other kids ride the skateboards of a later era. Laurel and Hardy, classic movie performers who may need introduction, are amusingly pictured as bullies turned florists (a little odd, since only Hardy bullied Laurel). Even McBummerpants seems reminiscent of an old-time movie villain. The text is less inventive than the pictures, but the message of good over evil is always timely.
Powered by whimsy and nostalgia, a doggone adorable tale of superheroes transforming the world for the better. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781665961332
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
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