Lester's lively, evocative artwork far outstrips her clunky narrative in this introduction to Australia's northern outback state of Arnhem Land. Young Ernie is off to Arnhem Land to live for a year with his parents. He has promised to write to his friends about the changing seasons. Lester has set the book up so that a two-page spread introduces each of the six seasons as Ernie relates it to his friends back home, with a half-dozen panels showing typical activities for that time of year. During Yekke, Ernie's friends collect bark and dig for yams; during Wurrkeng they weave pandanus and play tin-trucks, etc. Following these spreads are two-page kickers that describe one dramatic scene, such as a child being frightened by stilt dancers or a boy being told about the Creation Mother by his grandfather while sitting in a cave and looking at a petroglyph. But there is no attempt to weave the information into a satisfying narrative. "Ernie collects green plums with Old Daisy. Tammy digs up a long-necked turtle. Christine has her ears inspected." Plop. Plop. Plop. It is fortunate that the Aboriginal words are spellbinding enough—Dreamtime, Mimi stilt dancers, icypole—for kids to keep their interest through to the glossary at the end of the book. After all this impressive correspondence, Ernie's friends finally write back, asking, "We wonder what you are doing Ernie?" Since he’s done nothing but tell them what he’s been doing for six seasons, this comes across as either a bad joke or just plain weird. As a story, it's a great list. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-618-10442-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Walter Lorraine/Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
An invitation to wonder, imagine and look at everything (humans included) in a new way.
A young boy sees things a little differently than others.
Noah can see patterns in the dust when it sparkles in the sunlight. And if he puts his nose to the ground, he can smell the “green tang of the ants in the grass.” His most favorite thing of all, however, is to read. Noah has endless curiosity about how and why things work. Books open the door to those answers. But there is one question the books do not explain. When the wind comes whistling by, where does it go? Noah decides to find out. In a chase that has a slight element of danger—wind, after all, is unpredictable—Noah runs down streets, across bridges, near a highway, until the wind lifts him off his feet. Cowman’s gusty wisps show each stream of air turning a different jewel tone, swirling all around. The ribbons gently bring Noah home, setting him down under the same thinking tree where he began. Did it really happen? Worthington’s sensitive exploration leaves readers with their own set of questions and perhaps gratitude for all types of perspective. An author’s note mentions children on the autism spectrum but widens to include all who feel a little different.
An invitation to wonder, imagine and look at everything (humans included) in a new way. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-60554-356-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Redleaf Lane
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
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