A diverse cast and eye-catching illustrations overcome the dialogue format’s limitations in this creative tale of...
Two new acquaintances explore the natural world—and learn to support each other—in this debut picture book.
Introducing the two titular characters, digital cartoons by debut illustrator Lightstone depict Jazzy, a tutu-wearing African American girl with freckles and pigtails, and Kettle, a jeans-wearing child with short brown hair and light brown skin. The early risers are up before their families, and through their conversation, readers realize the two are both new to the neighborhood, meeting for the first time. Though they understand they might get in trouble, they decide to venture outdoors and enjoy the beauty of nature, encountering a deer. When Jazzy starts to climb a tree, Kettle stays below, afraid. But after a branch breaks and leaves her stranded, Kettle climbs up to help. Safe on the ground, Jazzy calls her journey a mistake, but Kettle, now over his fear, insists it wasn’t: “You tried it, and You got to see tomorrow.” The budding friendship, examined through Quinn’s authentic-sounding dialogue between two elementary school–age children, has appeal, especially with the colorful details provided in Lightstone’s images. But the format may confuse some readers; the lack of dialogue tags may leave them guessing who said what. And the absence of consequences for the kids’ independent trek may concern parents who’d like to know where their children are.
A diverse cast and eye-catching illustrations overcome the dialogue format’s limitations in this creative tale of friendship. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Dec. 13, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4808-6936-3
Page Count: 38
Publisher: Archway Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Pedestrian.
Mr. Brown can’t help with farm chores because his shoes are missing—a common occurrence in his household and likely in many readers’ as well.
Children will be delighted that the titular Mr. Brown is in fact a child. After Mr. Brown looks in his closet and sorts through his other family members’ shoes with no luck, his father and his siblings help him search the farm. Eventually—after colorful pages that enable readers to spot footwear hiding—the family gives up on their hunt, and Mr. Brown asks to be carried around for the chores. He rides on his father’s shoulders as Papa gets his work done, as seen on a double-page spread of vignettes. The resolution is more of a lesson for the adult readers than for children, a saccharine moment where father and son express their joy that the missing shoes gave them the opportunity for togetherness—with advice for other parents to appreciate those fleeting moments themselves. Though the art is bright and cheerful, taking advantage of the setting, it occasionally is misaligned with the text (for example, the text states that Mr. Brown is wearing his favorite green shirt while the illustration is of a shirt with wide stripes of white and teal blue, which could confuse readers at the point where they’re trying to figure out which family member is Mr. Brown). The family is light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Pedestrian. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5460-0389-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: WorthyKids/Ideals
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
Teachers looking for a new way to start off the school year will eat this one up.
In Murray’s children’s debut, when a gingerbread man made by schoolchildren gets left behind at recess, he decides he has to find his class: “I’ll run and I’ll run, / As fast as I can. / I can catch them! I’m their / Gingerbread Man!”
And so begins his rollicking rhyming adventure as he runs, limps, slides and skips his way through the school, guided on his way by the friendly teachers he meets. Flattened by a volleyball near the gym, he gets his broken toe fixed by the kindly nurse and then slides down the railing into the art teacher’s lunch. Then it’s off to the principal’s office, where he takes a spin in her chair before she arrives. “The children you mentioned just left you to cool. / They’re hanging these posters of you through the school.” The principal takes him back to the classroom, where the children all welcome him back. The book’s comic-book layout suits the elementary-school tour that this is, while Lowery’s cartoon artwork fits the folktale theme. Created with pencil, screen printing and digital color, the simple illustrations give preschoolers a taste of what school will be like. While the Gingerbread Man is wonderfully expressive, though, the rather cookie-cutter teachers could use a little more life.
Teachers looking for a new way to start off the school year will eat this one up. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25052-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2011
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