This ninja leaves no lasting mark, yet it has enough quick rhymes and tricks that it will have young fans requesting repeat...
A child ninja in Japan embarks on his first covert mission in this fractured nursery rhyme.
“Jack B. Ninja! Jack, be quick! / Jack, jump over the bamboo stick!” Now that training is complete, his first mission commences. Told in rhyming couplets similar to, but at times not as fluent as, the original rhyme’s, the novice’s skills are put to the test. “Hide in shadow, out of sight.” He sneaks past a line of faceless samurai. In a Japanese garden, he finds an underwater tunnel and eventually infiltrates “a bandit cave.” There he finds his objective: a small red chest. Each obstacle Jack faces is introduced and resolved on the same page, including the climax of conflict: He is trapped in a pit full of bandits. Due to the lack of suspense and any obvious struggle, the plot has an overall lighthearted quality. However, its rapid, happy rhymes, paired with a decent twist when the chest’s contents are finally revealed, will appeal to little readers, especially during a read-aloud. The clean type, rhyme, and repetition also make this a good choice for a beginning reader. Savage’s illustrations are minimalist in detail and bold, with simple shapes and lines. He makes effective use of bright, contrasting colors, which pop to the eye. Still, this is but one ninja book on a crowded shelf.
This ninja leaves no lasting mark, yet it has enough quick rhymes and tricks that it will have young fans requesting repeat visits. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 26, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-545-91728-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance.
A boy with wings learns to be himself and inspires others like him to soar, too.
Norman, a “perfectly normal” boy, never dreamed he might grow wings. Afraid of what his parents might say, he hides his new wings under a big, stuffy coat. Although the coat hides his wings from the world, Norman no longer finds joy in bathtime, playing at the park, swimming, or birthday parties. With the gentle encouragement of his parents, who see his sadness, Norman finds the courage to come out of hiding and soar. Percival (The Magic Looking Glass, 2017, etc.) depicts Norman with light skin and dark hair. Black-and-white illustrations show his father with dark skin and hair and his mother as white. The contrast of black-and-white illustrations with splashes of bright color complements the story’s theme. While Norman tries to be “normal,” the world and people around him look black and gray, but his coat stands out in yellow. Birds pop from the page in pink, green, and blue, emphasizing the joy and beauty of flying free. The final spread, full of bright color and multiracial children in flight, sets the mood for Norman’s realization on the last page that there is “no such thing as perfectly normal,” but he can be “perfectly Norman.”
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-785-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
Readers will delight in discovering the joyous time pumpkins have when it’s Halloween.
Magical moonbeams awaken a pumpkin patch to raucous Halloween-season revelry.
A moonbeam illuminates and energizes a smiley-faced pumpkin sitting alone on a stair; it promptly takes off to find a friend with whom to have a good time. An entire pumpkin patch, also sparked by the magical moon, instantly comes alive. And what merriment all the grinning gourds get up to! Their playful shenanigans include piling high on top of one another, bouncing on a trampoline, dancing, marching, and drumming, wearing costumes, and competing in games. They even engage in activities usually reserved for other holiday-themed icons—flying on brooms and making magic, for instance. As dawn approaches, the pumpkin leader escorts the cavalcade back home. At sunrise, each one takes up residence on a different house’s front porch and awaits that evening’s moonbeams to work their magic again. Liveliness and good cheer abound in this frisky rhyming tale in which the perennial holiday symbols naturally take center stage. Perky couplets that read and scan very well appear on most pages and are accompanied by energetic, expressive illustrations that highlight vivid oranges, yellows, blues, purples, and greens with touches of other bright shades.
Readers will delight in discovering the joyous time pumpkins have when it’s Halloween. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-56332-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
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