Perfect for Halloween storytimes—or any time at all.
A pair of brothers encounter a late-night terror in Keres’ spooky children’s tale.
This isn’t a picture book—not exactly. The narrator warns the audience that this story is “much too scary for PICTURES, so I plan to use WORDS.” While the words tell the story as text, they also, in Lin’s deft design, serve as illustrations. When the power goes out one stormy night, a scream wakes two brothers, who lie in bed, terrified. More unsettling noises follow, including creaks and cracks and thumps and growls. The presumed monster’s noises seem to fade, but then additional sounds make the boys curious enough to get over their fears and investigate (though they keep their blanket over their heads). When they reach the kitchen, the terror is undermined with a single comedic illustration that reveals all. (Some savvy readers may have guessed the identity of the culprit all along.) Mini-illustrations of each noise-causing event follow, laid out like a treasure map. The gorgeous use of words and shapes—the word door appears against a door’s outline, for example, and the word covers has a blanket over it—gives readers’ imaginations a chance to run wild. A kids’ picture book without traditional illustrations hasn’t been this much fun since B.J. Novak’s excellent The Book With No Pictures (2014)—Keres and Lin have created a joyfully creepy companion.
Perfect for Halloween storytimes—or any time at all.Pub Date: May 14, 2022
ISBN: 9798985911244
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
This humorous, lively dog’s-eye view provides gentle instruction for interacting with pets.
In Weaver’s charming picture book, a dog reassesses his not-so-glowing review of little kids.
“Families are OVERRATED!” as far as the bluish-gray hound named Dog is concerned. While he approves of the adults in the household, the four small children are for the birds. In an attempt to resolve his conflicted feelings, Dog pours his heart out to a therapist scribbling on a notepad. Dog lists his grievances via couplet rhymes: “And many times I’ve found their dirty toys INSIDE MY BOWL! / It’s obvious these little humans have no SELF-CONTROL!” With key words highlighted in colorful and bolded fonts for more emphasis, his voice now has added urgency. Soylu’s lively drawings in muted tones are wondrously effective in animating Dog; his hanging jowls, big eyes, and floppy ears all convey believably beleaguered expressions. Lifelike details enhance the dramatic effect of the children’s boisterous antics. At the end, Weaver provides a list of do’s and don’ts for interacting with pets. Dog lovers can identify the dog breed silhouettes on the endpapers. Kids will get a kick out of Dog’s opinion of humans and perhaps recognize some behaviors to reconsider.
This humorous, lively dog’s-eye view provides gentle instruction for interacting with pets.Pub Date: July 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781736267370
Page Count: 40
Publisher: A Little Offbeat Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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