A charming but slightly confusing tale of finding companionship in unexpected ways.
A lonely princess makes a friend.
Bored of playing in her room with her sibling, Prince Baby, Rani wanders the palace looking for a playmate. When she finds her mother busy with the transportation minister, her father occupied with the kitchen staff, and the prime minister involved with “life-changing, stupendous tasks,” the princess decides to take matters into her own hands. After asking the reluctant Prime Minister to pack her a picnic, Rani grabs her baby brother and heads to the beach (in the background, Rani’s security detail attempts to surreptitiously keep tabs on them). At the shoreline, Rani tries and fails to build a sand castle. When a little girl asks Rani if the princess knows what she’s doing, Rani challenges the stranger to a sand castle–building contest. What begins as a competition ends up as a collaboration, and the two become friends. Rani is a spunky protagonist whose loneliness will be relatable to many readers. However, the girls’ transition from competitors to friends is a bit abrupt; similarly, Rani’s initial response to the new girl is inexplicably hostile. While the pictures are lushly detailed and Rani’s security guards’ antics are a hilarious pictorial running gag, the illustrations often swallow up the tiny text, making it difficult to read. Characters are brown-skinned and cued as South Asian. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A charming but slightly confusing tale of finding companionship in unexpected ways. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 30, 2023
ISBN: 9780358536772
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A disappointing follow-up.
Inventor Izzy Gizmo is back in this sequel to her eponymous debut (2017).
While busily inventing one day, Izzy receives an invitation from the Genius Guild to their annual convention. Though Izzy’s “inventions…don’t always work,” Grandpa (apparently her sole caregiver) encourages her to go. The next day they undertake a long journey “over fields, hills, and waves” and “mile after mile” to isolated Technoff Isle. There, Izzy finds she must compete against four other kids to create the most impressive machine. The colorful, detail-rich illustrations chronicle how poor Izzy is thwarted at every turn by Abi von Lavish, a Veruca Salt–esque character who takes all the supplies for herself. But when Abi abandons her project, Izzy salvages the pieces and decides to take Grandpa’s advice to create a machine that “can really be put to good use.” A frustrated Izzy’s impatience with a friend almost foils her chance at the prize, but all’s well that ends well. There’s much to like: Brown-skinned inventor girl Izzy is an appealing character, it’s great to see a nurturing brown-skinned male caregiver, the idea of an “Invention Convention” is fun, and a sustainable-energy invention is laudable. However, these elements don’t make up for rhymes that often feel forced and a lackluster story.
A disappointing follow-up. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68263-164-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
A steady paean to time’s passing and the pleasures found along the way.
A front-seat view of a school bus’s long and varied life.
Deftly invoking the anthropomorphized objects in books of old (as in the works of Virginia Lee Burton), Long introduces readers to a small town and the yellow bus that serves it. Using charcoal and graphite, the author/artist portrays a mostly black-and-white world; he relies on colorful acrylics to depict those who enter the bus (who's described with female pronouns), including children ferried to school. Time goes on, and the bus is repurposed to take the elderly around town. Later, she’s abandoned near an overpass but finds a new role sheltering unhoused people. Finally, she’s taken to a farm, where she becomes a playground for goats. With each iteration, we hear the sounds of her passengers, human and otherwise, and the repeated phrase “And they filled her with joy.” At long last a damming project leaves her underwater, but fish find a home in the bus and make her happy. A final view of the town displays a single wavery point of yellow visible beneath the water. Backmatter explains both Long’s inspiration and the model town he made as a visual aid. Though this is a tale of decay over time, the book’s gentle narration, fun sound effects, and empathy grant the old vehicle dignity in her deconstruction. Characters are diverse.
A steady paean to time’s passing and the pleasures found along the way. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 25, 2024
ISBN: 9781250903136
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
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