Monstrous sisterly fun.
An exasperated big sister learns to love her little monster of a sibling by finding her own inner monster.
Lucy has had it with her little sister’s behavior. Mia, who like Lucy is white, always seems underfoot and over-the-top. When Lucy finally loses her temper and calls Mia a “little monster,” Mia disappears. Mia’s reaction to her sister’s rejection isn’t depicted, but at first, Lucy is clearly delighted and revels in time to herself. But a shift in palette from bright to dull, as well as in the tone of the text, signals Lucy’s quick change of heart: “after a while, it felt quiet. Very quiet. TOO QUIET. No one followed Lucy’s lead.” So Lucy sets out to find Mia and discovers a secret doorway in her little sister’s room that leads to a land of monsters. Fotheringham’s style shifts from something akin to Jules Feiffer’s to something more like Ed Emberley’s here, with brightly colored, cartoonish, goggly-eyed monsters cavorting with Mia against a black background. Mia seems perfectly content, and not only do the monsters reject Lucy’s attempts to wrest Mia away, they reject her, too: “ ‘YOU’RE NOT A LITTLE MONSTER,’ they howled. ‘GO AWAY!’ ” But Lucy stands firm and liberates her inner monster with a fit of rage that sends the monsters scurrying away. Mia happily rejoins her in the real world, where their rivalry gives way to sisterly revelry.
Monstrous sisterly fun. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-83192-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
See, hear, touch, taste, smell...and imagine poetry all around you.
A neighborhood walk unleashes the power of poetry.
Kiyoshi, a boy of Japanese heritage, watches his poet grandfather, Eto, write a poem in calligraphy. Intrigued, Kiyoshi asks, “Where do poems come from?” So begins a meditative walk through their bustling neighborhood, in which Kiyoshi discovers how to use his senses, his power of observation, and his imagination to build a poem. After each scene, Eto jots down a quick poem that serves as both a creative activity and an instruction for Kiyoshi. Eventually Kiyoshi discovers his own poetic voice, and together the boy and his grandfather find poems all around them. Spare, precise prose is coupled with the haiku Kiyoshi and his grandfather create, building the story through each new scene to expand Kiyoshi’s understanding of the origin of poems. Sensory language, such as flicked, whooshed, peeked, and reeled, not only builds readers’ vocabulary, but also models the vitality and precision of creative writing. The illustrations are just as thoughtfully crafted. Precisely rendered, the artwork is soft, warm, and captivating, offering vastly different perspectives and diverse characters who make up an apparently North American neighborhood that feels both familiar and new for a boy discovering how to view the world the way a poet does. Earth tones, coupled with bright yellows, pinks, and greens, draw readers in and encourage them to linger over each spread. An author’s note provides additional information about haiku.
See, hear, touch, taste, smell...and imagine poetry all around you. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-62014-958-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A spellbinding tale that encourages readers to accept—and celebrate—what makes us different.
A bespectacled young witch longs for a cat but ends up with something unexpected.
Though Wilma is excited for her first feline pet, when she goes to the Beast Buddies Pet Shop there are no more cats; instead, she is offered a wombat. She begrudgingly takes the dumpy, snoozy chum but worries: “Everyone else brings cats to school. Cats have been friends to witches for centuries. What a cat-tastrophe!” Unfortunately, Wombat is afraid of heights, which makes mastering Broom-Flying Basics a challenge; can’t perch on the edge of a cauldron during Brewing Potions for Beginners; and doesn’t stay in the required spell boundary zone, causing a spell to go disastrously wrong. Wilma is so frustrated she wishes Wombat would disappear. And Wombat does just that—by burrowing deep into the ground. Sprinkled with wombat facts (Wilma’s remembering that wombat scat is cube-shaped helps her follow a trail of poop to find her pal), this is a winning testament to true friendship. Wilma sets aside her assumptions of what a witch’s companion should look like and realizes just how wonderful Wombat truly is. This is a not-so-spooky tale perfect for Halloween and beyond. Wilma has bluish-black hair and pale skin among a diverse class. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A spellbinding tale that encourages readers to accept—and celebrate—what makes us different. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 4, 2023
ISBN: 9780593569634
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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