by Luis Amavisca ; illustrated by Guridi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 10, 2017
Empowering in its simplicity.
A barbed-wire fence separates two communities—one ocher and one blue, each needing something the other has in abundance.
The blue folk have a well on their side with much water. The ocher folk have an oven with plenty of bread. But when the ocher side runs out of water, the blue side will not share. The water is on their land; it belongs to them. This compels the same response when the blue side runs out of bread. Luckily, the younger generation thinks this is ridiculous. They happily share through the fence and wonder, “Why are our parents like this?” When green strangers arrive, a new portion of fence is erected to divide the land further. The green folk have nothing to offer, and the bread and water are kept guarded by adults. But still, the children share. Optimistic readers will hope the fence will be torn down in the end, but it stands strong—showing how much work society still has to do. Wobbly, unrestricted lines create these elongated, scribbled characters. Even the barbed wire seems springy and looped, not menacing, though the important message is not lost in frivolity. Kids can bring about change, regardless of previous generations’ ideas. This Spanish import was published in Europe in collaboration with Amnesty International, and a portion of its sales will go toward protecting human rights worldwide.
Empowering in its simplicity. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2017
ISBN: 978-84-945971-3-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: NubeOcho
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
Share your opinion of this book
More by Luis Amavisca
BOOK REVIEW
by Luis Amavisca ; illustrated by Anna Font ; translated by Luis Amavisca & Rami Abu Salman
BOOK REVIEW
by Blanca Lacasa & Luis Amavisca ; illustrated by Gusti ; translated by Cecilia Ross
BOOK REVIEW
by Luis Amavisca ; illustrated by Alicia Gómez Camus ; translated by Cecilia Ross
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
Share your opinion of this book
More by Tish Rabe
BOOK REVIEW
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings
BOOK REVIEW
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino
by Dev Petty ; illustrated by Lauren Eldridge ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 20, 2017
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
Share your opinion of this book
More by Dev Petty
BOOK REVIEW
by Dev Petty ; illustrated by Mike Boldt
BOOK REVIEW
by Dev Petty ; illustrated by Mike Boldt
BOOK REVIEW
by Dev Petty ; illustrated by Ana Aranda
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.