Positive—but not quite powerful.
A determined tot is ready for change.
This youngster, with a shock of brown hair, pink skin, and big, bold eyes, can change (almost) anything. Strong first-person narration radiates purposeful strength. Basic, everyday tasks such as getting dressed (“I can change the clothes I wear. / I can change my socks and shoes”) lead to small victories: “I can change a seed into a tree” (with the help of a watering can). Larger circumstances beyond a small child’s control require a bit more imagination: “I can change a rainy day into a day at sea.” (A cardboard boat sails through a puddle.) Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, knows about big ideas. Alas, too many ideas are strung together in this package, which muddles the intended empowerment message. The narration attempts to flow from concrete changes to more abstract ones: “I can change my feelings into words. / I can change ideas into things.” However, the platitudinous ending —“But I can change the world!”—falls flat. Occasional rhyme (“I can change myself from being shy. / I can make myself say hi”) results in choppy scansion. Brenlla’s retro art helps to enliven this list of buoyant encouragements.
Positive—but not quite powerful. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-947492-32-5
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Strong Arm Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pair this with Leo Timmers’ Who Is Driving? (2007) for twice the guessing fun.
Heling and Hembrook’s clever conceit challenges children to analyze a small town’s clotheslines to guess the job each of their owners does.
Close-up on the clothesline: “Uniform and cap, / an invite for you. / Big bag of letters. / What job does she do?” A turn of the page reveals a macro view of the home, van and the woman doing her job, “She is a mail carrier.” Indeed, she can be spotted throughout the book delivering invitations to all the rest of the characters, who gather at the end for a “Launch Party.” The verses’ rhymes are spot-on, though the rhythm falters a couple of times. The authors nicely mix up the gender stereotypes often associated with several of these occupations, making the carpenter, firefighter and astronaut women. But while Davies keeps uniforms and props pretty neutral (he even avoids U.S. mail symbols), he keeps to the stereotypes that allow young readers to easily identify occupations—the farmer chews on a stalk of wheat; the beret-wearing artist sports a curly mustache. A subdued palette and plain white backgrounds keep kids’ focus on the clothing clues. Still, there are plenty of details to absorb—the cat with arched back that anticipates a spray of water, the firefighter who “lights” the rocket.
Pair this with Leo Timmers’ Who Is Driving? (2007) for twice the guessing fun. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-58089-251-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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