This beautifully illustrated collection will be useful in larger library collections and for reading aloud in Christian...
Seventeen well-known stories from the Christian Bible are retold in contemporary language accompanied by intriguing gouache illustrations.
Bostrom, a Presbyterian minister and the author of the popular Little Blessings series for younger children, retells the Biblical stories in graceful prose full of rich vocabulary, strong dialogue, and humorous touches such as words conveying sound effects. Stories from the Old Testament include retellings about the Garden of Eden, Noah’s Ark, baby Moses in his basket, and David and Goliath. New Testament stories include the birth of Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount, the Last Supper, and the first Easter. The large-size format includes three to seven pages of text for each story, with one or two full-page illustrations and several vignettes per story. Each spread offers an illustration done in Mirtalipova’s striking style, full of swirling lines and motion. The illustrations are particularly accomplished in their variety of composition, such as a parade of sea creatures swimming across the bottom of a spread or Jonah inside the belly of the whale. Throughout, the human characters all have tan or brown skin and dark hair. A final page lists the corresponding Biblical text reference for each story.
This beautifully illustrated collection will be useful in larger library collections and for reading aloud in Christian families and in church settings. (Religion. 5-9)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-84780-891-2
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
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