This beautifully illustrated picture book oversimplifies the immigrant experience.
On a snowy December day in Canada, a little brown-skinned girl and her mother walk home through the slush.
But while the little girl delights in the snow, her mother misses the color and heat of warmer seasons. The young protagonist tries to inspire her mother to see beauty in the frozen landscape, but Ma says that she misses the vibrant greens of her home; the protagonist counters that this snowy landscape is their new, shared home. In the end, the mother doesn’t quite change her mind but is able to see snow as more than just a nuisance. While the book is well-intentioned and, at times, poetic, the lack of detail about the girl and her mother render the storyline unsatisfying. With the help of Campbell’s soft, muted paintings, the author implies that the mother is from a tropical place but never specifies where, nor do readers learn whether the daughter has any knowledge of or love for it. Furthermore, the characters’ relationships with snow appear to be a metaphor for the daughter’s comfort in Canada and the mother’s homesickness for her native place. This opens the door to a false binary implying that immigrants either fully assimilate or never let go of their homeland. Additionally, the tension established by this analogy is never fully resolved, the plot failing to allow for a change in either character. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10.8-by-17.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
This beautifully illustrated picture book oversimplifies the immigrant experience. (Picture book 3-6)Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-77306-258-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
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