An appropriately modest reminder of Hanukkah’s promise and the importance of perseverance.
A poor artist, a lost and hungry cat, and a peddler are each blessed with good fortune during the week of Hanukkah.
Misha, “a very good artist,” lives in an impoverished town where few have money to buy his paintings. The first night of Hanukkah Misha finds a tabby cat in his barn, adopts and names him Mazel (“luck” in Hebrew), and shares his meager portion of potato latkes. Though he cannot afford candles for his artisan grandfather’s silver menorah, Misha finds a way to commemorate the nightly ritual by rendering a painting of his heirloom. Using the last of his paints he depicts the glowing flames, one each night of the holiday, until a fully lit menorah is the focus of his canvas. Having just enough paint for the eighth candle makes for a subtle metaphorical parallel to the scarcity of oil in the traditional Hanukkah story, though Stein’s themes of hope and luck are the prevailing ones. The uncomplaining artist makes the best of things until a little luck brings to his door a traveling peddler who finds market potential in Misha’s paintings. Muted tones depict an Eastern European setting, a rosy-cheeked, bearded young religious man, and a wrinkly, sun-weathered old peddler. Washed-out scenes of an Old-World simple life contrast with the deeper tones of Misha’s numerous paintings.
An appropriately modest reminder of Hanukkah’s promise and the importance of perseverance. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4677-8171-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: Aug. 23, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader!
Fun with friends makes for a great day.
Norbit, a salmon-colored worm with a pink kerchief, joyfully greets the day and everyone he encounters. “Hello, friends! It’s time for fun with the sun! Let’s play!” He and his menagerie of forest pals—including the sun, who grows limbs and descends from the sky—exuberantly engage in various forms of physical activity such as jumping, going down a slide, spinning around, and watching the clouds go by. Young readers will readily relate, as these are games that most children are familiar with. As day turns to night, Norbit says farewell to Sun and welcomes Moon with an invitation to continue the fun. Watkins has created a vivid world of movement and merriment. Her illustrations feature bright bursts of color that match the energy of the text, with most sentences ending in an exclamation point. The author/illustrator incorporates many elements that make for an ideal early-reading experience (despite the use of a contraction or two): art free from clutter, text consisting of words with only one or two syllables, and repetition and recurring bits, such as a continued game of hide-and-seek with Sun. Inspired by never-before-seen sketches from the Dr. Seuss Collection archives at the University of California San Diego, this is the first title for Seuss Studios, a new imprint for original stories from “emerging authors and illustrators” who “honor Seuss’s hallmark spirit of creativity and imagination.”
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader! (author's note) (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780593646212
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Seuss Studios
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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