Useful for both the very youngest listeners and their caregivers when they long for outside.
Young children are encouraged to imagine all the fun they can have when they “go outside!”
Five simple outdoor scenes focus on natural elements that toddlers will easily recognize: the sun in the sky, tall trees, buzzing bees, a sunset. Even a swimming-hole scene is sufficiently generic so either city children or country kids might picture themselves in it. The children and families (depicted with various skin tones) exude cheerful companionship and love. Details for little ones to notice and talk about are scattered throughout the uncluttered, cut-paper illustrations. Saturated colors against high-contrast backgrounds keep the design clean. One line of engaging text per spread is just right for the age group. Instructions to “Look up at the big, blue sky!” and “Now STRETCH like a tall, tall tree” are followed by questions that invite listeners to “SPLISH like a fish” and buzz like a bee. The final spread includes eight recognizable animals and an open-ended question to spark more vocabulary-building interaction. Branded “indestructible,” the Tyvek-like material may actually be just that. With a typical board-book trim size and light paperback weight, this one is sturdy enough to survive teething babies stuck at home as well as trips to the park or woods.
Useful for both the very youngest listeners and their caregivers when they long for outside. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5235-0986-7
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: May 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
This delightful debut welcomes readers in like a house filled with love.
A 13-year-old biracial girl longs to build the house of her dreams.
For Lou Bulosan-Nelson, normal is her “gigantic extended family squished into Lola’s for every holiday imaginable.” She shares a bedroom with her Filipina mother, Minda—a former interior-design major and current nurse-to-be—in Lola Celina’s San Francisco home. From her deceased white father, Michael, Lou inherited “not-so-Filipino features,” his love for architecture, and some land. Lou’s quietude implies her keen eye for details, but her passion for creating with her hands resonates loudly. Pining for something to claim as her own, she plans to construct a house from the ground up. When her mom considers moving out of state for a potential job and Lou’s land is at risk of being auctioned off, Lou stays resilient, gathering support from both friends and family to make her dream a reality. Respicio authentically depicts the richness of Philippine culture, incorporating Filipino language, insights into Lou’s family history, and well-crafted descriptions of customs, such as the birdlike Tinikling dance and eating kamayan style (with one’s hands), throughout. Lou’s story gives voice to Filipino youth, addressing cultural differences, the importance of bayanihan (community), and the true meaning of home.
This delightful debut welcomes readers in like a house filled with love. (Fiction. 8-13)Pub Date: June 12, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5247-1794-0
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Wendy Lamb/Random
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Brava!
From award winner Telgemeier (Smile, 2010), a pitch-perfect graphic novel portrayal of a middle school musical, adroitly capturing the drama both on and offstage.
Seventh-grader Callie Marin is over-the-moon to be on stage crew again this year for Eucalyptus Middle School’s production of Moon over Mississippi. Callie's just getting over popular baseball jock and eighth-grader Greg, who crushed her when he left Callie to return to his girlfriend, Bonnie, the stuck-up star of the play. Callie's healing heart is quickly captured by Justin and Jesse Mendocino, the two very cute twins who are working on the play with her. Equally determined to make the best sets possible with a shoestring budget and to get one of the Mendocino boys to notice her, the immensely likable Callie will find this to be an extremely drama-filled experience indeed. The palpably engaging and whip-smart characterization ensures that the charisma and camaraderie run high among those working on the production. When Greg snubs Callie in the halls and misses her reference to Guys and Dolls, one of her friends assuredly tells her, "Don't worry, Cal. We’re the cool kids….He's the dork." With the clear, stylish art, the strongly appealing characters and just the right pinch of drama, this book will undoubtedly make readers stand up and cheer.
Brava! (Graphic fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-32698-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
SEEN & HEARD
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