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PARADISE FOUND

Name: PARADISE FOUND
Author: John Milton
ISBN: 978-1-912213-64-1

by John Milton ; illustrated by Helen Elliott ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 2019

Just lovely.

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This British picture book, with more text than usual for the format, tells the adventures of Albie, a dog, who is looking for his mate, Nellie.

While the book’s design is rather staid—illustrations in full bleed that run past the gutter and text on the rest of the white page with some black-and-white spot illustrations—its content is not. The story’s text is robust and rambles conversationally (in a very good way) as it details what Albie sees and smells and hears on his adventure to find Nellie. Author Milton (author/title pun duly noted) has a way with words as he introduces American readers to an English countryside in summer. His observations are keen and ingenuous, just the sort a dog may have, and this artless feel is echoed in illustrator Elliott’s watercolors. White outlines give body to a riot of color and naïve forms, and the overall feeling is one of delight. The story is simple: Albie wakes up in the cozy kitchen and discovers that his boon companion, Nellie, is missing. He trots outside and investigates the garden, meadow, seashore, and town. Then Albie, (after an adventure in town involving sausages) finds himself drawn to a cave in the heart of the mountain, where he meets Gwendolyn, an ancient dragon who helps him find Nellie. Nellie has never been in trouble, though; quite the opposite, and the ending is a satisfyingly happy one.

Just lovely. (Picture book. 3-8)

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-912213-64-1

Page Count: 36

Publisher: Graffeg/Trafalgar

Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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HOW TO CATCH A MONSTER

From the How To Catch… series

by Adam Wallace ; illustrated by Andy Elkerton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2017

Only for dedicated fans of the series.

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When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.

“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.

Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)