Big ideas ably packed into little, bright packages.
Addressing his infant son about what it means to live on Earth, the author/illustrator offers a mix of planetary facts, quotations, bits of advice, and illustrations.
The dedication page to 2-month-old Harlan includes, from the author, “These are the things / I think you need to know,” as well as a quote from J.M. Barrie about the importance of kindness. Jeffers’ fans will not be disappointed by the scant, lilting text and the boldly colored, stylized depictions of people, animals, and scenery. Themes include the physical planet, caring for the body, diversity of people and animals, time well spent, and caring for the planet—with kindness as an overarching element. The tone is unsentimental and conversational and laced with Jeffers’ trademark wryness: “We know a bit about the sea, but we’ll talk some more about that once you’ve learned to swim.” The facts disclosed are rudimentary, as is the vocabulary—but this entertains rather than bores, because readers are intermittently reminded that the book’s audience is a baby. The double-page spread illustrating the “shapes, sizes and colors” of people is amazingly inclusive of ethnicities, abilities, and lifestyles (though the depiction of what seems to be an Arctic Native in furs speaks to the difficulty of balancing inclusion against stereotype in such an effort). Scattered throughout are funny, never snarky asides—as when a parrot corrects the assertion that animals don’t talk and when part of the universe is labeled the “stratosthingy.”
Big ideas ably packed into little, bright packages. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-16789-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2017
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Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
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