Elefantina dreams of skating a dazzling performance in a silvery suit in the next Elympics. Unfortunately, this dream seems unlikely to come true. She lacks a rink, a coach, and even ice skates, but with some ingenuity, she sells coconut to pay for the skates; builds her own ice rink out of blocks of ice borrowed from the ice man; and meets an earnest mouse who agrees to coach her. Mouse tells her that to become the greatest skater and make the team, she must learn the salchow jump. But Elfy just can’t master that feat—at least until a jealous rival accidentally helps her instead of hurting her. A few ill-placed banana peels send Elfy sailing up into the air then down to complete the perfect jump. Elfy then goes on to the Elympics where she performs the perfect routine and is showered with flowers. Cartoon drawings created using crayons and colored pencils accompany the rhyming verses. Text-heavy pages make this a poor choice for reading aloud to a large group, but smaller groups or individual readers will enjoy the lyrical cadence of the story. Readers familiar with Kennedy’s earlier book featuring the Elympics (1999) will want to read more about this talented pachyderm. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-399-23428-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2001
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
Sloat collaborates with Huffman, a Yu’pik storyteller, to infuse a traditional “origins” tale with the joy of creating. Hearing the old women of her village grumble that they have only tasteless crowberries for the fall feast’s akutaq—described as “Eskimo ice cream,” though the recipe at the end includes mixing in shredded fish and lard—young Anana carefully fashions three dolls, then sings and dances them to life. Away they bound, to cover the hills with cranberries, blueberries, and salmonberries. Sloat dresses her smiling figures in mixes of furs and brightly patterned garb, and sends them tumbling exuberantly through grassy tundra scenes as wildlife large and small gathers to look on. Despite obtrusively inserted pronunciations for Yu’pik words in the text, young readers will be captivated by the action, and by Anana’s infectious delight. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-88240-575-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
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