A hopeful, universal story about the power of friendship to dramatically improve the quality of everyday life.
A picture book set in China shows that loneliness can be overcome.
Liling, a young Chinese girl, and her parents have moved from the country to a busy city. Her mother and father work in a sewing factory and a can-making factory respectively. Without friends or school, Liling is lonely. The artwork’s grayscale palette reflects that bleak reality. Even the marketplace, with its “tables of rainbow fabrics,” is painted in muted blues and grays. The only bright spots in the illustrations are Liling’s red coat and, eventually, the bright yellow coat of Qiqi, a smiling girl whom Liling must devise ingenious methods to befriend since they live in different buildings. The motif of a Chinese dragon, a metaphor for courage, weaves in and out of the artwork and text. The hand-drawn pictures and handwritten notes that the two girls send each other are sparks of joy in Liling’s otherwise dull life. The Chinese hukou system that traps Liling and her family in poverty is explained in a brief glossary and in the pronunciation guide at the beginning of the book, but it is not the focus of the story. An author’s note and a five-item resource list at the back provide details for parents and teachers seeking more information. Inspired by her visit to Shanghai to adopt a child, Evans’ pencil and watercolor paintings of Chinese characters and scenes avoid insensitive stereotypes and respect Chinese culture. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A hopeful, universal story about the power of friendship to dramatically improve the quality of everyday life. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: May 3, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-18192-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Anne Schwartz/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2022
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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