Beautiful, but this pond is a little shallow.
When a beloved pond experiences a catastrophic flood, it’s up to speedy Spencer Chamberlain to alert residents downstream of the coming danger.
Steeped in historical detail, Ibatoulline’s elegant, photorealistic watercolors paint rich portraits of all four seasons of pond and people in a 19th-century Vermont village. Children fish, cows graze, and, on July 4 each year, a footrace is a highlight of the festivities. “Big and strong” Chamberlain wins every year, but when the village is hit with epic rains one summer, he finds himself facing a new—and far more critical—race as he attempts to outpace the torrential waters of the flooded Long Pond to warn his neighbors. Thanks to him, all survive except for the pond itself, which drains but recovers as a thriving marsh. There’s a gentle wholesomeness here; this is the kind of story that will appeal to kids who long to try on bonnets and churn butter, yet it’s marred by verbosity and an odd pacing that feels laggy in a book about a quickly developing disaster. It’s not clear what story the author is attempting to tell—is this a Paul Bunyan–like folktale? If so, Chamberlain never feels fleshed out enough to qualify. If the pond is the focus, then failing to mention that the disaster is a result of human actions, as noted in the backmatter, seems like an oversight. All characters present white.
Beautiful, but this pond is a little shallow. (Picture book. 5-12)Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9781536219982
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
Absolutely wonderful in every way.
A long-forgotten chapter in New York City history is brilliantly illuminated.
In mid-19th-century New York, horses and horse-drawn vehicles were the only means of transportation, and the din created by wheels as they rumbled on the cobblestones was deafening. The congestion at intersections threatened the lives of drivers and pedestrians alike. Many solutions were bandied about, but nothing was ever done. Enter Alfred Ely Beach, an admirer of “newfangled notions.” Working in secret, he created an underground train powered by an enormous fan in a pneumatic tube. He built a tunnel lined with brick and concrete and a sumptuously decorated waiting room for passenger comfort. It brought a curious public rushing to use it and became a great though short-lived success, ending when the corrupt politician Boss Tweed used his influence to kill the whole project. Here is science, history, suspense, secrecy, and skulduggery in action. Corey’s narrative is brisk, chatty, and highly descriptive, vividly presenting all the salient facts and making the events accessible and fascinating to modern readers. The incredibly inventive multimedia illustrations match the text perfectly and add detail, dimension, and pizazz. Located on the inside of the book jacket is a step-by-step guide to the creative process behind these remarkable illustrations.
Absolutely wonderful in every way. (author’s note, bibliography, Web resources) (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: March 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-375-87071-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
Weatherford and Christie dazzlingly salute African-Americans’ drive to preserve their dignity and pride.
Count down the days until Sunday, a day for slaves in New Orleans to gather together and remember their African heritage.
In rhyming couplets, Weatherford vividly describes each day of nonstop work under a “dreaded lash” until Sunday, when slaves and free blacks could assemble in Congo Square, now a part of New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong Park and on the National Register of Historic Places. Musicians “drummed ancestral roots alive” on different traditional instruments, and men and women danced. They also exchanged information and sold wares. The poetry is powerful and evocative, providing a strong and emotional window into the world of the slave. Christie’s full-bleed paintings are a moving accompaniment. His elongated figures toil in fields and in houses with bent backs under the watchful eyes of overseers with whips. Then on Sunday, they greet one another and dance with expressively charged spirits. One brilliant double-page spread portrays African masks and instruments with swirling lines of text; it is followed by another with four dancers moving beautifully—almost ethereally—on a vibrant yellow collage background. As the author notes, jazz would soon follow from the music played in Congo Square.
Weatherford and Christie dazzlingly salute African-Americans’ drive to preserve their dignity and pride. (foreword, glossary, author’s note) (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0103-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2015
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