by Rob D. Walker & illustrated by Matt Mahurin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2005
Falling between Charles G. Shaw’s elemental It Looked Like Spilt Milk (1947) and the sophistication of Pat Cummings’s C.L.O.U.D.S. (1986) or David Wiesner’s Sector 7 (1999), this rhymed reverie considers what clouds might be: cotton candy? Ice cream for angels? mashed potatoes? “ . . . whirling wind / in a swirl-away rush?” Father Time’s beard? No, the youngest of several narrators concludes as, in Mahurin’s final richly colored, soft-focus scene, she snuggles down on a pillow, “Clouds are just dreams . . . that wander about.” Walker’s rhyming isn’t always sure—“Are clouds comfy cushions / where birds take their naps, / resting their wings / and hiding from cats?”—but he displays an active imagination, and Mahurin catches his dreamy tone perfectly, adding further buoyancy with vivid lighting and dashes of wit. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-439-68879-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Blue Sky/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2005
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by Rob D. Walker and illustrated by Leo Dillon & Diane Dillon
by Teri Sloat & Betty Huffman & illustrated by Teri Sloat ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2004
Sloat collaborates with Huffman, a Yu’pik storyteller, to infuse a traditional “origins” tale with the joy of creating. Hearing the old women of her village grumble that they have only tasteless crowberries for the fall feast’s akutaq—described as “Eskimo ice cream,” though the recipe at the end includes mixing in shredded fish and lard—young Anana carefully fashions three dolls, then sings and dances them to life. Away they bound, to cover the hills with cranberries, blueberries, and salmonberries. Sloat dresses her smiling figures in mixes of furs and brightly patterned garb, and sends them tumbling exuberantly through grassy tundra scenes as wildlife large and small gathers to look on. Despite obtrusively inserted pronunciations for Yu’pik words in the text, young readers will be captivated by the action, and by Anana’s infectious delight. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-88240-575-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
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by Teri Sloat ; illustrated by Rosalinde Bonnet
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by Teri Sloat ; illustrated by Rosalinde Bonnet
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by Teri Sloat and illustrated by Stefano Vitale
adapted by Rachel Isadora & illustrated by Rachel Isadora ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2008
Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your dreads! Isadora once again plies her hand using colorful, textured collages to depict her fourth fairy tale relocated to Africa. The narrative follows the basic story line: Taken by an evil sorceress at birth, Rapunzel is imprisoned in a tower; Rapunzel and the prince “get married” in the tower and she gets pregnant. The sorceress cuts off Rapunzel’s hair and tricks the prince, who throws himself from the tower and is blinded by thorns. The terse ending states: “The prince led Rapunzel and their twins to his kingdom, where they were received with great joy and lived happily every after.” Facial features, clothing, dreadlocks, vultures and the prince riding a zebra convey a generic African setting, but at times, the mixture of patterns and textures obfuscates the scenes. The textile and grain characteristic of the hewn art lacks the elegant romance of Zelinksy’s Caldecott version. Not a first purchase, but useful in comparing renditions to incorporate a multicultural aspect. (Picture book/fairy tale. 6-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-399-24772-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2008
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by Rachel Isadora ; illustrated by Rachel Isadora
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by Rachel Isadora ; illustrated by Rachel Isadora
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by Rachel Isadora ; illustrated by Rachel Isadora
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