A charming celebration of the sun’s warmth and glow, perfect for sharing and reading aloud.
Seasonal poems, dominated by summer themes, paint pictures of exploring nature and enjoying kid-friendly activities in this picture book from the team of Howell and Povarchik (Shimmer, Songs of Night, 2017).
Beginning with leaves frozen beneath the surface of a pond and the sorceress of spring taking over from winter’s snow fairy, these poems of sunlight and balmy days mix the magical and the ordinary—and sometimes make the ordinary seem magical. Howell’s linguistic twists and turns are a delight for the tongue, especially in poems that praise the “slosh,” “muck,” and “murk” of mud, or a “twirling, rolling, cartwheeling” journey to find polliwogs. The poetry form sometimes changes; though most of the pieces rhyme, haiku and free verse are also featured. The vivid imagery in Howell’s verse is echoed in Povarchik’s watercolor-and-ink images, which feature cartoonish children, animals, and fairies in brightly colored moments of whimsy. Although a variety of settings, including beach, city, and woods, are included, all the human characters have pale skin. To accommodate the illustrations, some poems are presented in smaller fonts, giving them a squished look on the page. That is unlikely to stop poetry lovers in the 6 to 12 age group, who will find plenty of tongue-tangling rhymes and rhythms to relish.
A charming celebration of the sun’s warmth and glow, perfect for sharing and reading aloud.Pub Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-950169-11-5
Page Count: 46
Publisher: Spork
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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