A stunning tribute to a classic that also offers insight into the bookmaking process.
Marking the 100th anniversary of the first Winnie-the-Pooh book, a paean to that silly old bear and the team that brought him to life.
With a skillful nod to the original titles, Pimentel fashions her story of Pooh Bear’s origins as a conversation between Christopher Robin and his ursine pal. As she recounts author Alan Alexander Milne and artist Ernest Shepard’s complicated relationship—Milne initially rejected Shepard as a potential illustrator—she weaves in information about what making the book entailed. In other children’s books at the time, “images stood guard at the beginning of a chapter” or “simply leaned against the words,” yet Milne, Shepard, and their editor had “revolutionary ideas about how words could work with pictures.” Pimentel softens technical jargon into ideas sure to spark young readers’ imaginations, while her unmistakable fondness for the subject matter shines through. She elegantly explores lofty concepts (“They imagined Alan’s words and Ernest’s pictures dancing together”), anchored by Pooh’s deliciously twee rejoinders (“I suppose even bears of very little experience can dance!”). Backmatter even introduces readers to this book’s editor, art director, and team. Meanwhile, Pray references Shepard’s style yet imbues her work with an impressive originality, portraying Pooh as a vague collection of words that grows more distinct as his first book nears publication.
A stunning tribute to a classic that also offers insight into the bookmaking process. (bibliography) (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9781250358448
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: yesterday
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2025
A supplemental rather than introductory book on the great artist.
Frida Kahlo’s strong affection for and identification with animals form the lens through which readers view her life and work in this picture-book biography.
Each two-page spread introduces one or more of her pets, comparing her characteristics to theirs and adding biographical details. Confusingly for young readers, the beginning pages reference pets she owned as an adult, yet the illustrations and events referred to come from earlier in her life. Bonito the parrot perches in a tree overlooking young Frida and her family in her childhood home and pops up again later, just before the first mention of Diego Rivera. Granizo, the fawn, another pet from her adult years, is pictured beside a young Frida and her father along with a description of “her life as a little girl.” The author’s note adds important details about Kahlo’s life and her significance as an artist, as well as recommending specific paintings that feature her beloved animals. Expressive acrylic paintings expertly evoke Kahlo’s style and color palette. While young animal lovers will identify with her attachment to her pets and may enjoy learning about the Aztec origins of her Xolo dogs and the meaning of turkeys in ancient Mexico, the book may be of most interest to those who already have an interest in Kahlo’s life.
A supplemental rather than introductory book on the great artist. (Picture book/biography. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4269-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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