Warm and compelling, sure to have hearts soaring.
A child’s first day of school is transformed by a gift from her homeland.
Maria Mariposa, a young Mexican immigrant, is thrilled when she looks out the window and sees a butterfly: “¡Una mariposa!” She’s instantly filled with reminders of home: “the black and gold mariachis strumming silver strings, the purple of flower-heavy jacaranda trees holding nests of singing birds.” She’s determined to share her gift with family and neighbors, and she performs acts of kindness for them, sparkling trails of flowers and glitter following in her wake. As Maria boards the city bus, she shares her magic with the driver. Everyone deserves a little magic! But her magic—and confidence—falters when she arrives at school. She has trouble with English, and her classmates laugh at her. Maria encounters a few more bumps along the way, and at lunch, she finds herself alone, the magic all gone. Her loneliness seems huge, but Maria is bigger! She fights her feelings of sadness until magic blooms from within, so big and colorful that she makes a new friend—and new memories. Maria’s a delightful protagonist who faces challenges that many readers, especially young immigrants, will relate to. Spanish words are sprinkled throughout Valenti’s text, which relies on rich, tangible imagery, while the captivating art has a childlike appeal, using color to set the mood on each page.
Warm and compelling, sure to have hearts soaring. (author’s note, resources on butterfly and dragonfly migration) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781797207933
Page Count: 52
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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