bookshelf

MIMMY AND SOPHIE

Name: MIMMY AND SOPHIE
Author: Miriam Cohen
ISBN: 0-374-34988-6

by Miriam Cohen ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 25, 1999

bookshelf

Four tender reminiscences feature Mimmy and her younger sister, Sophie, growing up in Depression-era Brooklyn. Trolleys, brownstones, storefronts, and front stoops provide the urban theater for heartfelt snippets of everyday mini-dramas: melted popsicles, a visit to Gramma and Grampa’s, sibling squabbles, and an afternoon outing to the Brooklyn Bridge. Storyboard panels in somber colors depict the old-fashioned stories with innocence and simplicity; the understated, wholesome adventures don’t rely on fast-paced action or antics, but small, rounded conclusions that have the veracity of real life. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: March 25, 1999

ISBN: 0-374-34988-6

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
JACOB'S LITTLE SISTER
by Miriam Cohen ; illustrated by Miriam Cohen

- BOOK REVIEW
TWO LITTLE MITTENS
by Miriam Cohen & illustrated by Miriam Cohen

- BOOK REVIEW
MY BIG BROTHER
by Miriam Cohen & illustrated by Ronald Himler

bookshelf

KEVIN AND HIS DAD

by Irene Smalls ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1999

bookshelf

There is something profoundly elemental going on in Smalls’s book: the capturing of a moment of unmediated joy. It’s not melodramatic, but just a Saturday in which an African-American father and son immerse themselves in each other’s company when the woman of the house is away. Putting first things first, they tidy up the house, with an unheralded sense of purpose motivating their actions: “Then we clean, clean, clean the windows,/wipe, wipe, wash them right./My dad shines in the windows’ light.” When their work is done, they head for the park for some batting practice, then to the movies where the boy gets to choose between films. After a snack, they work their way homeward, racing each other, doing a dance step or two, then “Dad takes my hand and slows down./I understand, and we slow down./It’s a long, long walk./We have a quiet talk and smile.” Smalls treats the material without pretense, leaving it guileless and thus accessible to readers. Hays’s artwork is wistful and idyllic, just as this day is for one small boy. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: April 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-316-79899-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
MY POP POP AND ME
by Irene Smalls & illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson

- BOOK REVIEW
MY NANA AND ME
by Irene Smalls & illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson

- BOOK REVIEW
DON’T SAY AIN’T
by Irene Smalls & illustrated by Colin Bootman

bookshelf

ME AND MY FAMILY TREE

by Joan Sweeney ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1999

bookshelf

PLB 0-517-70967-8 Me And My Family Tree (32 pp.; $13.00; PLB $14.99; May; 0-517-70966-X; PLB 0-517-70967-8): For children who are naturally curious about the people who care for them (most make inquiries into family relationships at an early age), Sweeney explains, with the assistance of a young narrator, the concept of a family tree. Photographs become understandable once the young girl learns the relationships among family members; she wonders what her own family tree will look like when she marries and has children. A larger message comes at the end of this story: not only does she have a family tree, but so does everyone in the world. Cable’s drawings clearly define the process of creating a family tree; she provides a blank tree so children can start on their own geneaology.(Picture book. 5-7)