A unique and winning celebration of difference and creativity.
A rambunctious dog shows her young owner the beauty of being unique in Proia’s picture book.
Phebe is an excitable, gregarious Australian Shepherd. One day, Phebe’s owner, Rae (a young white girl), decides to take Phebe to an obedience class in the park. They are running late, so Rae tells Phebe to hurry, and Phebe takes this as permission to run. Unfortunately, it is only the first of many misunderstandings and mistakes for Phebe as she struggles to follow commands. But when it’s time to play fetch, Phebe outshines the rest of her classmates and demonstrates that being different is not synonymous with being a bad dog. Proia deftly renders a journey many readers will find familiar; Phebe’s experiences are representative of the challenges many neurodivergent individuals face throughout their lives. Phebe is seen as a problem (“I don’t know why you even bother with that dog, she never listens”), but the story gives Phebe a win, illustrating how a neurodivergent brain approaches and solves complex problems in creative ways. While the author doesn’t explicitly address race and ethnicity, the cast of characters is diverse, representing a variety of backgrounds. The prose, dialogue, and plot are cleanly executed and well-organized, resulting in an accessible, satisfying story for children. The charming, full-color illustrations by the author enhance the story and integrate with the text exceptionally well.
A unique and winning celebration of difference and creativity.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: yesterday
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
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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