by Richard O'Neill ; illustrated by Cindy Kang ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2022
An affirming story about a helpful young Traveller.
Janie helps her neighbor Mrs. Tolen by reconstructing her caravan when the older woman needs a safer living space after breaking her hip.
Janie, a light-skinned girl with reddish hair who lives with her mother and grandfather, and Mrs. Tolen, gray-haired and light-skinned, are Travellers who live in caravans. In the past, they traveled from town to town, working with metals and recycling older materials in what Janie’s grandpa calls the “rag-and-bone trade.” After visiting a can-recycling factory with her diverse class, Janie decides to rebuild Mrs. Tolen’s caravan with the help of classmates and community members. The recycling plant donates recycled metal sheets, and the community collects cans to earn necessary funds. Volunteers work under Janie’s leadership. After Mrs. Tolen finishes rehab, she moves into her new recycled “Can Caravan.” Colorful, realistic illustrations lend an upbeat tone. Perhaps it’s unrealistic for Janie to direct the initiative, but the “komli chavvie” (kind child), as Mrs. Tolen calls her, has a strong interest in creating caravans, and kids will admire her take-charge attitude and goodhearted actions. O’Neill deftly folds traditional Traveller values and vocabulary into a contemporary picture book about recycling and community action. A helpful flowchart at the end shows how cans are recycled. Romani words are defined on the copyright page. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An affirming story about a helpful young Traveller. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-78628-615-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Child's Play
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
Share your opinion of this book
More by Richard O'Neill
BOOK REVIEW
by Richard O'Neill ; illustrated by Kirsti Beautyman
BOOK REVIEW
by Richard O'Neill ; illustrated by Feronia Parker Thomas
BOOK REVIEW
by Richard O'Neill & Katharine Quarmby ; illustrated by Hannah Tolson
by Julian Lennon with Bart Davis ; illustrated by Smiljana Coh ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 11, 2017
“It’s time to head back home,” the narrator concludes. “You’ve touched the Earth in so many ways.” Who knew it would be so...
A pro bono Twinkie of a book invites readers to fly off in a magic plane to bring clean water to our planet’s oceans, deserts, and brown children.
Following a confusingly phrased suggestion beneath a soft-focus world map to “touch the Earth. Now touch where you live,” a shake of the volume transforms it into a plane with eyes and feathered wings that flies with the press of a flat, gray “button” painted onto the page. Pressing like buttons along the journey releases a gush of fresh water from the ground—and later, illogically, provides a filtration device that changes water “from yucky to clean”—for thirsty groups of smiling, brown-skinned people. At other stops, a tap on the button will “help irrigate the desert,” and touching floating bottles and other debris in the ocean supposedly makes it all disappear so the fish can return. The 20 children Coh places on a globe toward the end are varied of skin tone, but three of the four young saviors she plants in the flier’s cockpit as audience stand-ins are white. The closing poem isn’t so openly parochial, though it seldom rises above vague feel-good sentiments: “Love the Earth, the moon and sun. / All the children can be one.”
“It’s time to head back home,” the narrator concludes. “You’ve touched the Earth in so many ways.” Who knew it would be so easy to clean the place up and give everyone a drink? (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: April 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5107-2083-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
by Julian Lennon & Bart Davis ; illustrated by Smiljana Coh
More by Julian Lennon
BOOK REVIEW
by Julian Lennon & Bart Davis ; illustrated by Smiljana Coh
by Kirsten Hall ; illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 8, 2018
Readers (and listeners) will think that this book is the bee’s knees.
Children will be buzzing to learn more about honeybees after reading this story.
Hall takes her readers on a sunny romp through a springtime pasture abuzz with friendly honeybees in this bright and cheerful picture book. Hall’s rhyme scheme is inviting and mirrors the staccato sounds of a bee buzzing. At times, however, meaning seems to take a back seat to the rhyme. The bees are suggested to “tap” while flying, a noise that adult readers might have trouble explaining to curious listeners. Later, the “hill” the bees return to may elicit further questions, as this point is not addressed textually or visually. Minor quibbles aside, the vocabulary is on-point as the bees demonstrate the various stages of nectar collection and honey creation. Arsenault’s illustrations, a combination of ink, gouache, graphite, and colored pencil, are energetic and cheerful. Extra points should be awarded for properly illustrating a natural honeybee hive (as opposed to the often depicted wasp nest). The expressive bees are also well-done. Their faces are welcoming, but their sharp noses hint at the stingers that may be lurking behind them. Hall’s ending note to readers will be appreciated by adults but will require their interpretation to be accessible to children. A sensible choice for read-alouds and STEAM programs.
Readers (and listeners) will think that this book is the bee’s knees. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 8, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4814-6997-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
Share your opinion of this book
More by Kirsten Hall
BOOK REVIEW
by Kirsten Hall ; illustrated by Aki
BOOK REVIEW
by Kirsten Hall ; illustrated by Jenni Desmond
BOOK REVIEW
by Kirsten Hall ; illustrated by Melissa Crowton
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.