Despite some shortcomings, the book carries the day on showcasing the beautiful traditions of Raksha Bandhan.
To the tune of “Frère Jacques,” the book showcases Raksha Bandhan, a festival in northern India that celebrates the relationship between brothers and sisters.
Two sisters busy themselves making a rakhi (the titular thread of love) and tying it to their brother. In return, their brother gives them a gift and some chum-chum (an Indian sweet). The book ends with a heartwarming spread showcasing family, friends, and neighbors around the world being bound by this thread of love. While obviously enjoyable for storytimes, the cadence of the song with these lyrics can be a bit challenging, and some poetic license has been taken with the wording, possibly to meet the meter. “Sister Kashi, Sister Kashi,” reads the text, “meri ban, meri ban.” The phrase “meri ban” is translated in the glossary as “my sister,” with an addendum that “behan” is “an alternate spelling”; many speakers of Hindi may well feel that “behan” is the standard rendering and “ban” an unfamiliar variation. Debut illustrator Hoang’s illustrations are infused with persimmon, magenta, and lime green. The children’s faces are disproportionately large, and they wear only traditional Indian garb. The backdrops indicate an Indian setting, with words in Hindi on shops and a cricket poster in the brother’s bedroom. Although the concluding map includes children likely of the Indian diaspora, it’s a shame the story itself is so visually limiting. The book ends with helpful instructions for making a rakhi.
Despite some shortcomings, the book carries the day on showcasing the beautiful traditions of Raksha Bandhan. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-0473-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
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
Cookie-cutter predictability.
After all the daring escapes in the How To Catch… series, will the kids be able to catch Santa?
Oddly, previous installments saw the children trying (and failing) to catch an elf and a reindeer, but both are easily captured in this story. Santa, however, is slippery. Tempted but not fooled by poinsettias, a good book (attached to a slingshot armed with a teddy bear projectile), and, of course, milk and cookies, Santa foils every plan. The hero in a red suit has a job to do. Presents must be placed, and lists must be checked. He has no time for traps and foolery (except if you’re the elf, who falls for every one of them). Luckily, Santa helps the little rascal escape each time. Little is new here—the kids resort to similar snares found in previous works: netting, lures, and technological wonders such as the Santa Catcher 5000. Although the rhythm falters quite a bit (“How did we get out you ask? / It looked like we were done for. / Santa’s magic is very real, / and I cannot reveal more”), fans of the series may not mind. Santa and Christmas just might be enough to overcome the flaws. Santa and the elf are light-skinned, one of the children is brown-skinned, and the other presents as Asian. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Cookie-cutter predictability. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781728274270
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2023
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