This dragon disappoints.
A Chinese boy learns a craft and shares a humble gift.
Nine-year-old peasant Hu Wan gardens with his grandfather beyond Beijing’s Forbidden City in this story set “many centuries ago.” Each year, Hu Wan’s grandfather cultivates a special gourd—shaping and carving it to create an intricate, decorative cricket cage. This year, Grandfather allows Hu Wan to shape the gourd, and when Grandfather gets sick and only weakly recovers, Hu Wan must carve the gourd as well. He creates a simple cricket cage in the shape of a sleeping dragon, and a cricket’s chirps fill the dragon with beautiful music. Could this lowly dragon, with its simple song, bring peace to a young, bereaved emperor? Inspired by a display of cricket cages, Young attempts to create a parablelike tale from imaginings of ancient China. Indeed, descriptions of the cage-crafting and the author’s note with cricket facts are the most compelling parts of this text. The story itself winds desultorily from one romantic stereotype to the next, with no redemption from the art. Solano’s illustrations caricature rather than characterize—a palace guard appears to be modeled after stock Asian villain Fu Manchu—and they omit critical plot details: despite textual references, images of the sleeping dragon do not include visible breathing holes, raising the question of how a cricket would actually survive inside.
This dragon disappoints. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-58536-977-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A nicely inventive little morality “tail” for newly independent readers.
Two little rats decide to show the world how tough they are, with unpredictable results.
Louie and Ralphie Ratso want to be just like their single dad, Big Lou: tough! They know that “tough” means doing mean things to other animals, like stealing Chad Badgerton’s hat. Chad Badgerton is a big badger, so taking that hat from him proves that Louie and Ralphie are just as tough as they want to be. However, it turns out that Louie and Ralphie have just done a good deed instead of a bad one: Chad Badgerton had taken that hat from little Tiny Crawley, a mouse, so when Tiny reclaims it, they are celebrated for goodness rather than toughness. Sadly, every attempt Louie and Ralphie make at doing mean things somehow turns nice. What’s a little boy rat supposed to do to be tough? Plus, they worry about what their dad will say when he finds out how good they’ve been. But wait! Maybe their dad has some other ideas? LaReau keeps the action high and completely appropriate for readers embarking on chapter books. Each of the first six chapters features a new, failed attempt by Louie and Ralphie to be mean, and the final, seventh chapter resolves everything nicely. The humor springs from their foiled efforts and their reactions to their failures. Myers’ sprightly grayscale drawings capture action and characters and add humorous details, such as the Ratsos’ “unwelcome” mat.
A nicely inventive little morality “tail” for newly independent readers. (Fiction. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7636-0
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
Supportive messages all children need to hear.
The world is lucky you’re here.
In gentle verse, this book delivers a quiet yet powerfully uplifting message: You’re special; you’re wonderful; you’re endowed with remarkable talents. You’re uniquely, unmistakably, unequivocally YOU, so don’t be afraid to go out and conquer the world. Gifts you don’t know about yet are ready to blossom; possibilities you haven’t begun to dream about are looming; roads you haven’t yet begun to explore lie before you! This is heady, empowering stuff. The encouraging proposals herein will boost children’s esteem when their spirits are flagging. Richmond reminds readers that the world’s waiting for them—to voice their ideas and opinions, to be the very best versions of themselves, and to do good for others. Some ideas may be a bit too lofty for children; adults might have to help explain things occasionally. Generally, though, kids should get the point that the world awaits them, that they’re special, and that they should aim to be the best they can be. The book will also make a fine gift for baby showers and new parents. Appealing illustrations, created with graphite pencil and digital methods, have an idyllic sweetness, depicting racially diverse characters putting on a play, spending time in nature, and more. Typefaces occasionally vary to highlight particular concepts.
Supportive messages all children need to hear. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9781728291529
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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