Van Laan (La Boda, 1996, etc.) goes to the way back time, when Shingebiss, a resourceful merganser duck, presents a challenge to Kabibona'kan, Winter Maker, who does not want him to be able to withstand the harsh winter. Winter Maker does everything in his power to thwart Shingebiss's efforts to catch fish—he freezes the waters of Great Lake Superior ``as solid as stone.'' Knowing that the clever duck has only four logs to last the winter, Kabibona'kan is certain he can blow drifts deep enough to freeze the bird. But the theme of the small overcoming the mighty prevails, for the tiny hero can be neither frozen nor starved. According to Ojibwe legend, Shingebiss has ever since served as a reminder of perseverence and fortitude. Bowen's labor-intensive, painstaking process of carving and inking woodblocks in stages produces an effective primitive style that evokes contrasts of the northern wilderness clime: The warm umbers of Shingebiss's wigwam home are carefully collated with the chilling blues and icy whites of the scenes where the appropriately scary Winter Maker is at work. Hand-lettered text is framed in borders inspired by the shape of Ojibwe ricing baskets, adding a rustic lure to the lore. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-395-82745-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1997
What if the market was closed when you wanted to bake a pie? You could embark for Europe, learn Italian en route, and pick up some semolina wheat in Italy, an egg in France, kurundu bark for cinnamon in Sri Lanka, and an entire cow in England (butter) before coming home via Jamaica (sugar) and Vermont (apples). The expertly designed illustrations in which a dark-haired lass journeys by various means to these interesting places to get her groceries are lovely and lively, and the narrative, too, travels at a spritely pace. The journey is neither quite logical enough to be truly informative nor quite bizarre enough to be satisfyingly silly, while the rich, sweet recipe that's appended will take some adult assistance. Still, fun. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: May 2, 1994
ISBN: 0-679-83705-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1994
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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