An evocative nod to the power of lateral thinking and flights of fancy.
A redheaded pixie takes to the woods with her father in hopes of seeing cavemen and other wild things.
“All Dad does is work,” says Tora, the pint-sized narrator. “He is a very boring father.” Gee, what does a guy have to do to cop a break? Take his wee one to the forest, for a start; in the green gloaming of the trees live great and fearful creatures, which are just Tora’s cup of tea. And if it turns out that their forest has more ants, squirrels and woodpeckers than hyenas and Bigfeet, then it is time for a little blue-sky thinking: That root is a boa constrictor (or maybe an anaconda), that hump of rocks is a crash of hippos, and that copse of birch trees is a tower of giraffes. (In the book, the congregation of giraffes is referred to as a flock, which may have something to do with the book having been originally written in Swedish.) All it takes is looking the right way, Tora tells her father, who is caught on his GPS or cellphone once too often. The artwork is deft and atmospheric, with a delicacy that lets the creative imagination loose. When it comes time for the father to show his stuff, he doesn’t let Tora down, boring as he is, with a water dragon. A water dragon “only eats fish fingers,” he assures her.
An evocative nod to the power of lateral thinking and flights of fancy. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-877579-89-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Gecko Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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