Time spent in this bottle is time well spent indeed.
At the helm of her fine boat, a mouse finds a new home and a new life.
Fed up with Cat’s endless quest to eat her, Mouse fills the bottle around her ship with gingersnaps, a favorite treat, and floats away in search of a safer, happier existence. The journey isn’t altogether smooth sailing at first, what with rapacious sea gulls and other hungry creatures greeting her and depleting her cookie stash. Add in stormy weather, and Mouse seemingly has bigger problems than she had with Cat. Fortunately, she has courage, ingenuity, and strength on her side. When the bottle at last reaches the shore of a large city, the ship in a bottle turns out to be an even better deal than Mouse originally believed: She realizes her good luck in discovering welcoming, helpful new friends—and a new culinary delight (kids will easily relate). As for Cat? In the end, it’s still waiting, morosely and comically, at an open window. This simply told, sweet, gently humorous story will have great appeal for young readers/listeners, and Mouse is a quietly charming heroine kids will earnestly root for. Delightful, pastel-colored cartoon illustrations beguile, competently suggesting place, atmosphere, and emotional heft; their varied presentation in full spreads and softly outlined panels very ably drives the text. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Time spent in this bottle is time well spent indeed. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-984815-81-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A disappointing follow-up.
Inventor Izzy Gizmo is back in this sequel to her eponymous debut (2017).
While busily inventing one day, Izzy receives an invitation from the Genius Guild to their annual convention. Though Izzy’s “inventions…don’t always work,” Grandpa (apparently her sole caregiver) encourages her to go. The next day they undertake a long journey “over fields, hills, and waves” and “mile after mile” to isolated Technoff Isle. There, Izzy finds she must compete against four other kids to create the most impressive machine. The colorful, detail-rich illustrations chronicle how poor Izzy is thwarted at every turn by Abi von Lavish, a Veruca Salt–esque character who takes all the supplies for herself. But when Abi abandons her project, Izzy salvages the pieces and decides to take Grandpa’s advice to create a machine that “can really be put to good use.” A frustrated Izzy’s impatience with a friend almost foils her chance at the prize, but all’s well that ends well. There’s much to like: Brown-skinned inventor girl Izzy is an appealing character, it’s great to see a nurturing brown-skinned male caregiver, the idea of an “Invention Convention” is fun, and a sustainable-energy invention is laudable. However, these elements don’t make up for rhymes that often feel forced and a lackluster story.
A disappointing follow-up. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68263-164-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
A valuable asset to the library of a child who experiences anxiety and a great book to get children talking about their...
Ruby is an adventurous and happy child until the day she discovers a Worry.
Ruby barely sees the Worry—depicted as a blob of yellow with a frowny unibrow—at first, but as it hovers, the more she notices it and the larger it grows. The longer Ruby is affected by this Worry, the fewer colors appear on the page. Though she tries not to pay attention to the Worry, which no one else can see, ignoring it prevents her from enjoying the things that she once loved. Her constant anxiety about the Worry causes the bright yellow blob to crowd Ruby’s everyday life, which by this point is nearly all washes of gray and white. But at the playground, Ruby sees a boy sitting on a bench with a growing sky-blue Worry of his own. When she invites the boy to talk, his Worry begins to shrink—and when Ruby talks about her own Worry, it also grows smaller. By the book’s conclusion, Ruby learns to control her Worry by talking about what worries her, a priceless lesson for any child—or adult—conveyed in a beautifully child-friendly manner. Ruby presents black, with hair in cornrows and two big afro-puff pigtails, while the boy has pale skin and spiky black hair.
A valuable asset to the library of a child who experiences anxiety and a great book to get children talking about their feelings (. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0237-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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