Attractive and initially inventive but ultimately lacking in substance
When a toothy black wolf falls out of a book in a little girl’s overstuffed library, he learns that real life can be much scarier than fiction.
The mouse-sized wolf (remember, he fell out of a book) tries to escape from a cat by plunging back in, but a sheep kicks him out “because he arrived too early in the story.” He tries again. But the other wolves scold him because he is arriving “when the story is finished.” He climbs the “tall, straight” shelves, nearly falling in his terror. He tries to climb into a fairy tale but is rejected because he is unsuitably dressed for a ball. Another book about dinosaurs is equally unwelcoming, being full of dangerous animals. Choosing another book “at random,” he finds himself in a large forest, where he finds a “little girl dressed in red,” sitting on a log and weeping. The wolf agrees to accompany her to her grandmother’s house. Those familiar with the story of Little Red Riding Hood will make the connection and may even enjoy the enigmatic, anticlimactic joke at the end; young readers who don’t know that story will be mystified. Mabire’s pen-and-watercolor illustrations are workmanlike, if repetitive—the cover, endpapers, and several spreads offer similar views of Sophie’s library bookshelves, which become monotonous after a while.
Attractive and initially inventive but ultimately lacking in substance . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4236-4797-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Gibbs Smith
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
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
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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