Loretta’s goal to be the latest in a long line of perfect Pinky Scouts is foiled by her inability to toast a marshmallow to golden perfection. Other outrageous tasks, like saving the world, bench-pressing 375, and building a snowman atop Mt. Everest are no problem for the plucky scout, but she cringes in shame before a portrait of her grandmother, “The most perfect Pinky ever.” Gran’s portrait, speaking in a gratingly perky manner, declares to the distraught girl, “Well, girlfriend, stinking is part of life,” and confesses that her perfectly knotted bowtie is a clip-on! Not only that, each of Loretta’s ostensibly perfect ancestors all had fatal flaws themselves. Loretta is finally able to sleep well, stating that she likes her marshmallows raw anyway. The message isn’t new, and the snarky smirk on Loretta’s face is perfectly annoying, but Graves (Uncle Blubbafink’s Seriously Ridiculous Stories, 2001, etc.) adds some levity by exaggerating the quest for merit badges among Scouts to the level of caricature. The illustrations portray the perfect ladies, complete with smirks of their own, and Loretta herself with ludicrously large heads and absurdly small bodies, hands, and feet, emphasizing Loretta’s firmly styled braids and upswept bangs and her determined facial expressions as she furiously bench presses and scorches marshmallows. The irritatingly hearty tone is reminiscent of the overly enthusiastic coaches, camp counselors, scout leaders, and peers everyone can recall. Ace Scout Loretta isn’t particularly appealing, but perhaps she’s not meant to be—perfectionism is not a desirable trait, and children may recognize a bit of Loretta in themselves before it gets out of hand. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-439-36831-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2002
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
An invitation to wonder, imagine and look at everything (humans included) in a new way.
A young boy sees things a little differently than others.
Noah can see patterns in the dust when it sparkles in the sunlight. And if he puts his nose to the ground, he can smell the “green tang of the ants in the grass.” His most favorite thing of all, however, is to read. Noah has endless curiosity about how and why things work. Books open the door to those answers. But there is one question the books do not explain. When the wind comes whistling by, where does it go? Noah decides to find out. In a chase that has a slight element of danger—wind, after all, is unpredictable—Noah runs down streets, across bridges, near a highway, until the wind lifts him off his feet. Cowman’s gusty wisps show each stream of air turning a different jewel tone, swirling all around. The ribbons gently bring Noah home, setting him down under the same thinking tree where he began. Did it really happen? Worthington’s sensitive exploration leaves readers with their own set of questions and perhaps gratitude for all types of perspective. An author’s note mentions children on the autism spectrum but widens to include all who feel a little different.
An invitation to wonder, imagine and look at everything (humans included) in a new way. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-60554-356-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Redleaf Lane
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
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