The poetry shines in this collection that’s both imaginative and fun to read aloud.
A collection of six illustrated poems by teacher and musician Combs.
The book transforms common childhood experiences and life lessons into whimsical adventures. “The Bear Next to Me” restores order to a frightened young girl who is surprised in the night by what she thinks is a bear. “Where the Tooth Bumps Go” explains the texture of newly cut adult teeth (“The tooth fairy’s partner / has a degree / In the fine art / of Bumpology”) and also shows what a pickle has in common with a brown toad. Combs offers a few twists when she champions the kids who don’t think the great outdoors are so great in “Not Everyone Likes To Go To Camp” and addresses “The Problem with Giants” for young feminists who would like to see more lady giants in stories. In constructing her poetry, Combs puts her master’s degree in music performance to good use. With a galloping rhythm that’s reminiscent of “Paul Revere’s Ride,” the poetry practically sings. “What’s a Diddle?” is light on its feet in pursuit of mysterious pranksters: “If checkers / are jumping / and game boards / are thumping, / You / might / shoo / rude diddles outdoors!” The illustrations combine brush, pen, ink, colored pencil and graphite in a style that could be tacked to a board in an elementary school classroom. Largely black and white, the occasional splash of color added to the illustrations gives the pictures an unfinished look, like a neglected coloring book, most noticeably in “Not Everyone Likes to Go to Camp.” The gadgets and flying machines in “What’s a Diddle?” are nicely detailed, as are the giants in “The Problem with Giants.” The best illustrations feature a silly crocodile named “Crocodilly” who poses for photos in a variety of costumes and exotic locations where the pictures push the narrative beyond the text.
The poetry shines in this collection that’s both imaginative and fun to read aloud.Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-935631-04-0
Page Count: 126
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A lovely encouragement to young writers to persist.
This follow-up to How To Read a Story (2005) shows a child going through the steps of creating a story, from choosing an idea through sharing with friends.
A young black child lies in a grassy field writing in a journal, working on “Step 1 / Search for an Idea— / a shiny one.” During a walk to the library, various ideas float in colorful thought bubbles, with exclamation points: “playing soccer! / dogs!” Inside the library, less-distinct ideas, expressed as shapes and pictures, with question marks, float about as the writer collects ideas to choose from. The young writer must then choose a setting, a main character, and a problem for that protagonist. Plotting, writing with detail, and revising are described in child-friendly terms and shown visually, in the form of lists and notes on faux pieces of paper. Finally, the writer sits in the same field, in a new season, sharing the story with friends. The illustrations feature the child’s writing and drawing as well as images of imagined events from the book in progress bursting off the page. The child’s main character is an adventurous mermaid who looks just like the child, complete with afro-puff pigtails, representing an affirming message about writing oneself into the world. The child’s family, depicted as black, moves in the background of the setting, which is also populated by a multiracial cast.
A lovely encouragement to young writers to persist. (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: July 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4521-5666-8
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Energetic enough to carry younger rocketeers off the launch pad if not into a very high orbit.
The bubble-helmeted feline explains what rockets do and the role they have played in sending people (and animals) into space.
Addressing a somewhat younger audience than in previous outings (Professor Astro Cat’s Frontiers of Space, 2013, etc.), Astro Cat dispenses with all but a light shower of “factoroids” to describe how rockets work. A highly selective “History of Space Travel” follows—beginning with a crew of fruit flies sent aloft in 1947, later the dog Laika (her dismal fate left unmentioned), and the human Yuri Gagarin. Then it’s on to Apollo 11 in 1969; the space shuttles Discovery, Columbia, and Challenger (the fates of the latter two likewise elided); the promise of NASA’s next-gen Orion and the Space Launch System; and finally vague closing references to other rockets in the works for local tourism and, eventually, interstellar travel. In the illustrations the spacesuited professor, joined by a mouse and cat in similar dress, do little except float in space and point at things. Still, the art has a stylish retro look, and portraits of Sally Ride and Guion Bluford diversify an otherwise all-white, all-male astronaut corps posing heroically or riding blocky, geometric spacecraft across starry reaches.
Energetic enough to carry younger rocketeers off the launch pad if not into a very high orbit. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-911171-55-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flying Eye Books
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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