A sentimental lap-read and a durable lift-the-flap novelty book all in one.
Sturdy flaps shaped like baby animals simulate hugs or cuddles when opened.
Pages are double thick to accommodate the nested die-cut flaps, which are the thickness of an ordinary board-book page. On the first three double-page spreads, a grown-up animal is on the verso, and when the flap on the recto is swung to the left, the baby critter closes in for a nuzzle. Little Bear “runs” for a kiss, Little Elephant goes “trunk-to-trunk” with their parent, and Little Bunny leaps over for a “special” public display of affection. The final two dyads break this pattern and show Little Owl in a nest as an adult owl swings their wing across the gutter for a snuggle, and Little Bear, appearing for second time, gets a full embrace as arms fold in for a hug. The text mostly consists of gently rhyming quatrains, the final line appearing only after the flap is opened. The direct address of adult to child allows for universality, as the larger animals could be stand-ins for parents of any gender, other relatives, and a variety of caregivers. Barker uses a muted palette, flat swaths of color without outline, and delicately patterned backgrounds to illustrate the sweet scenes.
A sentimental lap-read and a durable lift-the-flap novelty book all in one. (Novelty/board book. 6 mos.-3)Pub Date: March 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68010-566-7
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
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
Fast-paced and plot-driven.
In his latest, prolific author Gratz takes on Hitler’s Olympic Games.
When 13-year-old American gymnast Evie Harris arrives in Berlin to compete in the 1936 Olympic Games, she has one goal: stardom. If she can bring home a gold medal like her friend, the famous equestrian-turned-Hollywood-star Mary Brooks, she might be able to lift her family out of their Dust Bowl poverty. But someone slips a strange note under Evie’s door, and soon she’s dodging Heinz Fischer, the Hitler Youth member assigned to host her, and meeting strangers who want to make use of her gymnastic skills—to rob a bank. As the games progress, Evie begins to see the moral issues behind their sparkling facade—the antisemitism and racism inherent in Nazi ideology and the way Hitler is using the competition to support and promote these beliefs. And she also agrees to rob the bank. Gratz goes big on the Mission Impossible–style heist, which takes center stage over the actual competitions, other than Jesse Owens’ famous long jump. A lengthy and detailed author’s note provides valuable historical context, including places where Gratz adapted the facts for storytelling purposes (although there’s no mention of the fact that before 1952, Olympic equestrian sports were limited to male military officers). With an emphasis on the plot, many of the characters feel defined primarily by how they’re suffering under the Nazis, such as the fictional diver Ursula Diop, who was involuntarily sterilized for being biracial.
Fast-paced and plot-driven. (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781338736106
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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