A charming adaptation with a solid moral and a heroine whom little girls and boys can look up to.
When her six brothers are turned into swans by their wicked stepmother, Princess Sophie must endure physical and emotional trials to save them in this warmly illustrated version of the classic fairy tale.
The seamless interplay of words and images makes the picture-book format ideal for providing narrative clarity as well as nuance to the central relationships that seem abstract in the original story. Jacobs’ alterations allot Sophie far more agency than the passive heroine of the Grimm’s version possesses, transforming the white princess into a passionate and tenacious girl who is unafraid of hard work and sacrifice in an effort to right a wrong. Her friendship with her brothers is well-depicted, making her great sacrifice reflective of her strong sense of character rather than familial obligation or feminine duty. Jacobs—an illustrator writing for the first time—has a masterful eye for colors and skillfully employs them to reflect the mood of a scene and drive the narrative. The dreamlike quality of the illustrations makes this version an ideal bedtime story; misty blues symbolize Sophie’s loneliness and isolation as she sews her brothers’ shirts, while the delicate swirl of rainbow color renders the brothers’ transformations especially magical.
A charming adaptation with a solid moral and a heroine whom little girls and boys can look up to. (Picture book/fairy tale. 4-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-937786-67-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Wisdom Tales
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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
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