A challenging, inventive tale that works best for young dancers.
Ballet terms abound in this beautifully illustrated, advanced-concept counting book written by dance teacher and debut author Malek-Ahmadi.
Counting down from 10 to two, then zero, then back up to one, this book shows ballet students performing many familiar—and less familiar—moves and positions. As the story opens, all 10 dancers, depicted in a variety of skin tones and gender expressions, stand at or near the barre performing “Pliés, tendus, dégagés all looking fine. // One chaînés away and now there are // Nine.” As the students leave the room in a variety of moves, the rhyme scheme for each number in the countdown has an odd rhythm. The first line, which describes the remaining group of students, has no rhyming word. The second and third lines, which lead to the next number in the countdown, use a rhyming couplet typical of counting books. The text, full of French words and terms, may cause some young readers and their parents to stumble, but a partially illustrated glossary offers helpful pronunciation tips and translations. Gutkovskiy, whose action-packed ink-and-watercolor illustrations have appeared in books such as Bad Bad Dog (2020), accurately depicts the different positions and movements, making them recognizable to young dancers. A twist at the end, in which the students return to celebrate their teacher, leaves readers with a cheery tone.
A challenging, inventive tale that works best for young dancers.Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-947408-25-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: The Small-Tooth Dog Publishing Group
Review Posted Online: Oct. 6, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on...
Continuing from their acclaimed Those Shoes (2007), Boelts and Jones entwine conversations on money, motives, and morality.
This second collaboration between author and illustrator is set within an urban multicultural streetscape, where brown-skinned protagonist Ruben wishes for a bike like his friend Sergio’s. He wishes, but Ruben knows too well the pressure his family feels to prioritize the essentials. While Sergio buys a pack of football cards from Sonny’s Grocery, Ruben must buy the bread his mom wants. A familiar lady drops what Ruben believes to be a $1 bill, but picking it up, to his shock, he discovers $100! Is this Ruben’s chance to get himself the bike of his dreams? In a fateful twist, Ruben loses track of the C-note and is sent into a panic. After finally finding it nestled deep in a backpack pocket, he comes to a sense of moral clarity: “I remember how it was for me when that money that was hers—then mine—was gone.” When he returns the bill to her, the lady offers Ruben her blessing, leaving him with double-dipped emotions, “happy and mixed up, full and empty.” Readers will be pleased that there’s no reward for Ruben’s choice of integrity beyond the priceless love and warmth of a family’s care and pride.
Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on children. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6649-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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