A little boy’s room gets an energetic makeover from two Deaf painters. Colin’s bedroom is “very nice,” except for one problem. Its “hideous yellow” walls makes him feel like he’s “sleeping in an egg yolk!” His mom uses a message relay for the Deaf to make an appointment with painters Heather and Molly, who cheerily set to repainting the walls navy blue. At the end of the day, all that’s left to do is paint the white trim, which Molly and Heather do, “paint[ing] and chat[ting] and chat[ting] and paint[ing] furiously.” Of course, they are chatting in American Sign Language, so when Colin and his mom inspect the work, the navy-blue walls are speckled all over with white paint droplets. All’s well that ends well: Colin’s thrilled with the look, and his mom pays “Heather and Molly a heap of dollars for the creative job.” This purposive story has much to recommend it. It folds in details of hearing-Deaf communication naturally, and Crawford’s multimedia collages burst with energy and color. Heather’s hair is spiky and multicolored; Molly wears groovy purple-laced work shoes; Colin’s mom sports fuzzy moose slippers with antlers. But it’s hard to imagine professional painters forgetting themselves to the point of potentially ruining a job—most of their clients will hardly be so forgiving. It’s surely not intended, but this book ends up painting its Deaf characters as rather incompetent—a shame. (ASL picture glossary) (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: April 22, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-897187-88-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Second Story Press
Review Posted Online: April 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2011
Pair this with Leo Timmers’ Who Is Driving? (2007) for twice the guessing fun.
Heling and Hembrook’s clever conceit challenges children to analyze a small town’s clotheslines to guess the job each of their owners does.
Close-up on the clothesline: “Uniform and cap, / an invite for you. / Big bag of letters. / What job does she do?” A turn of the page reveals a macro view of the home, van and the woman doing her job, “She is a mail carrier.” Indeed, she can be spotted throughout the book delivering invitations to all the rest of the characters, who gather at the end for a “Launch Party.” The verses’ rhymes are spot-on, though the rhythm falters a couple of times. The authors nicely mix up the gender stereotypes often associated with several of these occupations, making the carpenter, firefighter and astronaut women. But while Davies keeps uniforms and props pretty neutral (he even avoids U.S. mail symbols), he keeps to the stereotypes that allow young readers to easily identify occupations—the farmer chews on a stalk of wheat; the beret-wearing artist sports a curly mustache. A subdued palette and plain white backgrounds keep kids’ focus on the clothing clues. Still, there are plenty of details to absorb—the cat with arched back that anticipates a spray of water, the firefighter who “lights” the rocket.
Pair this with Leo Timmers’ Who Is Driving? (2007) for twice the guessing fun. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-58089-251-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Egg-stra special.
The creators of Pick a Pine Tree (2017) and Pick a Pumpkin (2019) cover each step of a popular Easter tradition.
The first stop for a light-skinned caregiver and child is the farm. Peering into the henhouse, they spot an egg (reminding readers that eggs don’t originate at the grocery store). More eggs are collected throughout the spring countryside and brought home, ready to hard boil. While the eggs are cooling, it’s time to prepare the dye! The lively text highlights natural methods first (“Stew some plants / to make a brew: / beets turn eggs / a rosy hue. / Spinach? Green! / Berries? Blue! / Try some herbs / or spices, too”) but also gives a nod to store-bought kits. After a full day of egg decorating, the youngster wakes up the next morning for a festive neighborhood egg hunt. Happily, treats found inside plastic eggs are not limited to sugar only; they include secret notes, tiny toys, and coins, too. (The child adds their dyed eggs to this bounty.) Sprays of bright greens, a shining sun, and dotted buds on trees as well as pastel bunting and fuzzy bunny ears and flower crowns on little ones bring a light, airy lift to this joyful community gathering. The children involved in the egg hunt are diverse in skin tone. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Egg-stra special. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5362-2847-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
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