An environmental message that goes down easily amid the cartoony cast.
In this tale told entirely in dialogue, most along the lines of “See you later, Alligator,” Miles and Spike pay a visit to the woods, to the consternation of the animals that live there.
The two buddies, anthropomorphic dogs wearing boots and toting a blue backpack, seem to have come just to pillage the forest of its resources: wood, flowers, corn (an odd find in the woods), worms, and blueberries. With each new item, the backpack bulges a little more, and Miles and Spike leave in their wake a host of angry critters, their tossed-off, la-dee-da comments only adding fuel to the fire: “Ta-ta for now, COW!” “Peace out, RAINBOW TROUT!” The two dogs and the animal(s) they are speaking to are depicted in full color, while brilliantly colored monochromatic backgrounds allow Long to show the previously ticked-off animals and the devastation left behind (readers will expect the Lorax to pop out at any moment). Finally, Miles and Spike are unable to hoist the backpack and, thirsty from the tussle, go to fill up their canteens. They demand “Clear the water, OTTER!”—and the angry animals band together to deliver the titular message. The empty landscape speaks volumes, and the two admit “We acted dumb, chum.” They try again, unpacking the backpack and inviting the animals to accompany them to a new patch of forest (the trout is carried in a fishbowl), where they share their bounty, smiles and friendship replacing angry glares.
An environmental message that goes down easily amid the cartoony cast. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 14, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4521-6471-7
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child...
Imani endures the insults heaped upon her by the other village children, but she never gives up her dreams.
The Masai girl is tiny compared to the other children, but she is full of imagination and perseverance. Luckily, she has a mother who believes in her and tells her stories that will fuel that imagination. Mama tells her about the moon goddess, Olapa, who wins over the sun god. She tells Imani about Anansi, the trickster spider who vanquishes a larger snake. (Troublingly, the fact that Anansi is a West African figure, not of the Masai, goes unaddressed in both text and author’s note.) Inspired, the tiny girl tries to find new ways to achieve her dream: to touch the moon. One day, after crashing to the ground yet again when her leafy wings fail, she is ready to forget her hopes. That night, she witnesses the adumu, the special warriors’ jumping dance. Imani wakes the next morning, determined to jump to the moon. After jumping all day, she reaches the moon, meets Olapa and receives a special present from the goddess, a small moon rock. Now she becomes the storyteller when she relates her adventure to Mama. The watercolor-and-graphite illustrations have been enhanced digitally, and the night scenes of storytelling and fantasy with their glowing stars and moons have a more powerful impact than the daytime scenes, with their blander colors.
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child to be admired. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-934133-57-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Mackinac Island Press
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
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