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SLIGHTLY INVISIBLE

Name: SLIGHTLY INVISIBLE
Author: Lauren Child
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5347-7

From the Charlie & Lola series

by Lauren Child & illustrated by Lauren Child ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 10, 2011

Adults will recognize a spot-on portrayal of children’s imagination games, while kids will recognize the underwater,...

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Newcomers and devoted fans alike will cheer for clever, likable siblings Charlie and Lola in their newest outing.

Charlie and pal Marv want solitude for tracking “strange and tricky creatures,” but younger sister Lola interferes at every step: “Lola stepped on our spaceship. We had to walk back to Earth.” When the boys concoct an invisibility potion (“pink milk, a tiny drop of banana, and a secret invisible ingredient”), Lola cunningly feeds it to imaginary friend Soren Lorenson. Child has her own magic potion here: Atop her appealing mixed-media spreads of collaged line drawings, fabric patterns and graph paper, she now adds invisible Soren Lorenson. While Charlie, Lola and Marv (and Soren) look for creatures, readers have the joy of looking for Soren, whose glossy but uncolored outline can only be glimpsed by tipping the book until the light hits just so. The four of them play together, engrossed—under Lola’s direction—until they catch “the most strange and terrifyingly tricky creature in the universe” and have tea with him. Text bounces around and changes and typeface and font size.

Adults will recognize a spot-on portrayal of children’s imagination games, while kids will recognize the underwater, outer-space and mountainous territories that their homes become every day through play. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: May 10, 2011

ISBN: 978-0-7636-5347-7

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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GRAY
by Laura Dockrill ; illustrated by Lauren Child

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THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL STRIKES BACK
by Emma Carroll ; illustrated by Lauren Child

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CLARICE BEAN, THINK LIKE AN ELF
by Lauren Child ; illustrated by Lauren Child

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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HOW TO CATCH A MAMASAURUS

From the How To Catch… series

by Alice Walstead ; illustrated by Andy Elkerton ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2024

A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series.

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Another creature is on the loose.

The long-running series continues its successful formula with this Hallmark card of a book, which features bright illustrations and catchy rhymes. This time, the mythical creature the racially diverse children set out to catch is an absent mom who does it all (lists of descriptors include the words banker, caregiver, nurse, doctor, driver, chef, housekeeper, teacher, entertainer, playmate, laundry service, problem solver, handywoman, cleaner, and alarm clock) but doesn’t seem to have a job outside the home and is inexplicably a dinosaur. As the children prepare gifts and a meal for her, the text becomes an ode to the skills the Mamasaurus possesses (“Day or night she’s always there. / She meets every wish and need”) and values she instills (“Sometimes life can mean hard work,” “kindness matters,” and “what counts is doing your best”). This well-intentioned selection veers into cliche generously sprinkled with saccharine but manages to redeem itself with its appreciation for mothers and all that they may do. Endpapers include a “to” and “from” page framed in a heart, as well as a page where young gift givers or recipients can draw a picture of their Mamasaurus.