A family story that will resonate for many young readers, with wonderful pictures that seem drawn from a photo album. The eight Buckleys leave Ireland because there isn't enough food; the Paziks, father and son, leave Poland to find hope. Both families come to the dreary mining town of Pinecone Patch, Pennsylvania. Young Keara and Stefan glare at each other, because everyone in town knows that the Irish are crazy and the Poles foolish. But as they grow up, the offer of a cup of tea soothes Stefan, the weary miner, and Keara, the tired seamstress. Their wedding brings the town together, first by thoughts of fighting, and then by unexpected sharing. Yezerski's illustrations capture both the Irish and Polish heritages, the dust of coal towns, and the clothing and cheap row housing of mining communities in Pennsylvania in the early part of this century; the gold, green, and gray colors are just right, and Keara's flaming red hair is a statement in itself. The story has the ring of an oft-told family story, yet is universal enough that children will grasp both the tensions and resolution, in a place and time that only seems long ago and far away. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: March 19, 1998
ISBN: 0-374-37647-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
At her best, Rylant’s (The Ticky-Tacky Doll, below, etc.) sweetness and sentiment fills the heart; in this outing, however, sentimentality reigns and the end result is pretty gooey. Pandora keeps a lighthouse: her destiny is to protect ships at sea. She’s lonely, but loves her work. She rescues Seabold and heals his broken leg, and he stays on to mend his shipwrecked boat. This wouldn’t be so bad but Pandora’s a cat and Seabold a dog, although they are anthropomorphized to the max. Then the duo rescue three siblings—mice!—and make a family together, although Rylant is careful to note that Pandora and Seabold each have their own room. Choosing what you love, caring for others, making a family out of love, it is all very well, but this capsizes into silliness. Formatted to look like the start of a new series. Oh, dear. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-689-84880-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2002
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