Probably fun for unicorn lovers.
Fern’s not like other unicorns.
She’d rather tinker with robots in her laboratory than “[splash] majestically” in waterfalls, and she prefers chemistry to glitter (as if chemistry can’t include glitter!). Where other unicorns are adorned with hearts, stars, and flowers, Fern sports dots, stripes, and a tool belt, though the distinction can be hard to discern in pastel-dominated art that makes everyone look charmingly twee. Of course, other unicorns make fun of Fern’s bespectacled nerdiness and exclude her from their Sparkle Dance Parties. So she decides never to help them again, in a fabulously grumpy double-page close-up: “The next time they need an engine rebuilt, turbo-sprocket installed, or hydrothermal capacitor welded, they are on their own.” The text seems to be going for as many technical-sounding words with as little meaning as possible—though the illustrations do properly depict several tools, including a truing stand, a multimeter, and calipers. As it turns out, the Sparkle Dance Parties depend on technology, and Fern’s the only one who can fix the “starlight bedazzler,” so the rude unicorns return to beg. At first Fern doesn’t bother, but she eventually concludes that “being smart, a good friend, and always willing to help others [is] far more important than holding on to a grudge.” Once she saves the dance, the other unicorns clamor to celebrate her skills; those hoping for a wise take on uniqueness should look elsewhere. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 62% of actual size.)
Probably fun for unicorn lovers. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6005-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
A wandering effort, happy but pointless.
The perfect book for kids who love dragons and mild tacos.
Rubin’s story starts with an incantatory edge: “Hey, kid! Did you know that dragons love tacos? They love beef tacos and chicken tacos. They love really big gigantic tacos and tiny little baby tacos as well.” The playing field is set: dragons, tacos. As a pairing, they are fairly silly, and when the kicker comes in—that dragons hate spicy salsa, which ignites their inner fireworks—the silliness is sillier still. Second nature, after all, is for dragons to blow flames out their noses. So when the kid throws a taco party for the dragons, it seems a weak device that the clearly labeled “totally mild” salsa comes with spicy jalapenos in the fine print, prompting the dragons to burn down the house, resulting in a barn-raising at which more tacos are served. Harmless, but if there is a parable hidden in the dragon-taco tale, it is hidden in the unlit deep, and as a measure of lunacy, bridled or unbridled, it doesn’t make the leap into the outer reaches of imagination. Salmieri’s artwork is fitting, with a crabbed, ethereal line work reminiscent of Peter Sís, but the story does not offer it enough range.
A wandering effort, happy but pointless. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 14, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3680-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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