A sweet treat becomes a source of contention between two sisters in this wry tale about sibling relations and the art of sharing. Sheila Rae savors her peppermint candy; relishing its stripy-ness, its thinness, and most of all its toothsome taste. Enter Louise, her younger sister, who would like a sample. In true older-sibling fashion, Sheila Rae establishes a series of nearly impossible tasks for Louise to accomplish in order to have a taste—estimating the correct number of stripes on the candy, dangling it just out of reach—all of which Louise fails. Sheila Rae is lamenting, with just a small smirk, the fact that she doesn’t have two candies when Fate intervenes with a misstep that lands Sheila in a heap and the candy in two pieces. Henkes (Wemberly Worried, 2000, etc.) presents a kid’s-eye view of sibling interactions, deftly portraying the teasing that is part and parcel of these relationships. He does temper Sheila Rae’s superiority in the final page, showing her embracing her little sister and declaring “I was going to give you some all along!” Despite it’s chunky board-book format, this will find a ready and appreciative audience among the preschool set. Expressive illustrations, rendered in a pastel bouquet of hues, offer a comical perspective on a familiar scenario. A winsome introduction to Henkes for younger audiences and, rarest of all, just the right amount of art for a board book. (Board book. 2-5)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-06-029451-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2001
The combination of lovingly humorous and detailed mixed-media illustrations and infectious rhymes will cause little ones and...
More than skin deep, this rhyming paean to diversity offers readers an array of families of all colors and orientations, living and loving one another in a vibrant city setting.
A giggling baby is tummy-tickled by her white and black mothers (or white mother and black father—impressively, the illustration leaves room for interpretation) in New York’s Central Park in its summertime glory. "This is how we all begin: / small and happy in our skin." This celebration of skin not only extols the beauty and value of various skin colors, but also teaches the importance of skin as an essential body part: “It keeps the outsides out / and your insides in.” Park, public-pool, and block-party scenes allow readers to luxuriate in a teeming city where children of all colors, abilities, and religions enjoy their families and neighbors. The author and illustrator do not simply take a rote, tokenistic approach to answering the cry for diverse books; the words and pictures depict a much-needed, realistic representation of the statement “it takes a village to raise a child” when a child skins her knee and many rush to her aid and comfort. Though her palette of browns is a little limited, Tobia creates sheer joy with her depictions of everything from unibrows, dimples, and birthmarks to callouts to recognizable literary characters.
The combination of lovingly humorous and detailed mixed-media illustrations and infectious rhymes will cause little ones and their families to pore over this book again and again. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7002-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
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