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LEIF AND THE FALL

Name: LEIF AND THE FALL
Author: Allison Sweet Grant
ISBN: 978-1-984815-49-1

by Allison Sweet Grant & Adam Grant ; illustrated by Merrilee Liddiard ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 8, 2020

A polished, clever take on the falling-leaf narrative.

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A leaf fearful of falling experiments with safety ideas.

Leif, an oak leaf, knows leaves fall in the fall, as the other leaves tell him over and over. But still, he is afraid he’ll be hurt when it happens. An understanding laurel leaf friend that seems also to be growing on Leif’s tree commiserates, and the two of them try out ideas to make the fall easier or even prevent it altogether. They make a net with twigs and a kite out of moss, among other ideas, but nothing works, and Leif tosses each attempt away, “feel[ing] as if he has failed.” He hasn’t of course, as the ending-with-a-twist reveals. The narrative is written in present tense—a clever choice to underscore the immediacy of Leif’s anxiety—and is crisp and taut, moving the plot along just enough to build a satisfying bit of tension. The illustrations, which leave plenty of white space to accentuate the idea of the space Leif will be falling through, are done in a palette of soft greens and browns and use basic leaf shapes with simple facial expressions drawn on them. In a few of the illustrations, an image of real moss is photo-collaged in, and not to advantage, since the too-realistic look of the sharp moss photo clashes with the soft simplicity of the rest. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-16-inch double-page spreads viewed at 23% of actual size.)

A polished, clever take on the falling-leaf narrative. (Picture book. 3-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-984815-49-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
I AM THE CAGE
by Allison Sweet Grant

- BOOK REVIEW
THE GIFT INSIDE THE BOX
by Adam Grant & Allison Sweet Grant ; illustrated by Diana Schoenbrun

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YOUR BABY'S FIRST WORD WILL BE DADA

by Jimmy Fallon ; illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2015

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.

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A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.

A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: June 9, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
PAPA DOESN'T DO ANYTHING!
by Jimmy Fallon ; illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez

- BOOK REVIEW
5 MORE SLEEPS 'TIL HALLOWEEN
by Jimmy Fallon ; illustrated by Rich Deas

- BOOK REVIEW
CON POLLO
by Jimmy Fallon & Jennifer Lopez ; illustrated by Andrea Campos

- SEEN & HEARD
Jimmy Fallon Christmas Book Coming This Fall

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CHICKA CHICKA TRICKA TREAT

From the Chicka Chicka Book series

by Julien Chung ; illustrated by Julien Chung ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 15, 2025

A bit predictable but pleasantly illustrated.

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Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault’s classic alphabet book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989) gets the Halloween treatment.

Chung follows the original formula to the letter. In alphabetical order, each letter climbs to the top of a tree. They are knocked back to the ground in a jumble before climbing up in sequence again. In homage to the spooky holiday theme, they scale a “creaky old tree,” and a ghostly jump scare causes the pileup. The chunky, colorful art is instantly recognizable. The charmingly costumed letters (“H swings a tail. / I wears a patch. J and K don / bows that don’t match”) are set against a dark backdrop, framed by pages with orange or purple borders. The spreads feature spiderwebs and jack-o’-lanterns. The familiar rhyme cadence is marred by the occasional clunky or awkward phrase; in particular, the adapted refrain of “Chicka chicka tricka treat” offers tongue-twisting fun, but it’s repeatedly followed by the disappointing half-rhyme “Everybody sneaka sneak.” Even this odd construction feels shoehorned into place, since “sneaking” makes little sense when every character in the book is climbing together. The final line of the book ends on a more satisfying note, with “Everybody—time to eat!”

A bit predictable but pleasantly illustrated. (Picture book. 3-7)