Terrific.
Part story, part information, all rhyming train celebration.
On a pleasant day, a brown-skinned engineer sketches a picture of a train on graph paper. The next image depicts a diverse line of seven workers (and a cat) standing proudly in overalls. Each spread, accompanied by four lines of rhyming text, describes how a train is built. Robust vocabulary (bogie, coupling) will intrigue newer train fans while tickling advanced enthusiasts. Careful word and layout choices strike a sweet spot—this book will appeal both to readers looking to learn something new and newcomers seeking a deep dive. No drama or trouble emerges in this assembly tale. Neat illustrations feature warm grays and browns along with bold reds, blues, and greens. The drawings are realistic yet sparse, allowing the emerging train engine to shine on each page. Most spreads are accompanied by large, chunky orange text—“Choo, Chugga, Chugga, Choo, Choooo!”—as if to cheer along the train itself. Instead of focusing on the engineer, driver, or anyone in particular, the production phase shows diligent teamwork. Ultimately the whole community cheers on the train's first journey down the tracks. The combination of rhymes, chugging sound effect prompts, and tender illustrations makes this a strong choice for both storytimes and one-on-one sharing. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Terrific. ((“more about steam trains,” photo glossary) (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: July 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-53411-145-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
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
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree.
A Christmas edition of the beloved alphabet book.
The story starts off nearly identically to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989), written by John Archambault and the late Bill Martin Jr, with the letters A, B, and C deciding to meet in the branches of a tree. This time, they’re attempting to scale a Christmas tree, not a coconut tree, and the letters are strung together like garland. A, B, and C are joined by the other letters, and of course they all “slip, slop, topple, plop!” right down the tree. At the bottom, they discover an assortment of gifts, all in a variety of shapes. As a team, the letters and presents organize themselves to get back up on the Christmas tree and get a star to the top. Holiday iterations of favorite tales often fall flat, but this take succeeds. The gifts are an easy way to reinforce another preschool concept—shapes—and the text uses just enough of the original to be familiar. The rhyming works, sticking to the cadence of the source material. The illustrations pay homage to the late Lois Ehlert’s, featuring the same bold block letters, though they lack some of the whimsy and personality of the original. Otherwise, everything is similarly brightly colored and simply drawn. Those familiar with the classic will be drawn to this one, but newcomers can enjoy it on its own.
A successful swap from coconut tree to Christmas tree. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665954761
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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