by Emily Winfield Martin ; illustrated by Emily Winfield Martin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 18, 2016
Looking closely at little details will offer readers big rewards.
A forest-dwelling family of tiny anthropomorphic bears and a baby fox go adventuring.
Martin’s exquisite acrylic-and-gouache illustrations will invite readers to pore over their details in order to take in the many wonders of the miniature, fantastic woodland setting. After setting up house behind a red door at the base of a tree, the littlest family ventures out for a walk, the baby fox in a walnut-shell stroller. (It’s a mixed marriage, father bear a tawny brown, mother bear dark brown, and the children lighter shades of brown.) “Were they alone?” asks the text, printed in a type that approximates cursive. Readers who spy a fairy in the lower-left corner of the verso can anticipate the response at the page turn: “They were not! Not at all.” They greet tiny bunnies, squirrels, birds, raccoons, a bug and a snail, and elves. The family’s wanderings take them boating on leaves across waterways to a spot where they eat wild strawberries, through a storm and to shelter under a toadstool, and then they are lost. A benevolent owl helps them find the best place of all, “HOME,” which is depicted in a gorgeous full-bleed double gatefold. The absence of rich characterization and a fully engaging story is mitigated by the illustrations’ achievement: the art outshines the text throughout. Martin is an illustrator to watch.
Looking closely at little details will offer readers big rewards. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-553-51101-7
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2016
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More by Emily Winfield Martin
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by Emily Winfield Martin ; illustrated by Emily Winfield Martin
BOOK REVIEW
by Emily Winfield Martin ; illustrated by Emily Winfield Martin
BOOK REVIEW
by Emily Winfield Martin ; illustrated by Emily Winfield Martin
by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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by Gregory R. Lange ; illustrated by Sydney Hanson ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2019
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.
All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.
Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
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