A powerful and realistic depiction of the refugee experience that lacks closure.
Kajtazovic draws from her experience as a refugee and survivor of the Bosnian War in this dramatic illustrated children’s book.
The story opens on a little girl named Anesa, who receives a puppy called Bobi as a gift for her 7th birthday. Overjoyed, she and Bobi become fast friends. Anesa tells Bobi about her plans to make friends at school, how she can write her name, and about her love of recess. As Anesa enters second grade, war disrupts her life when her father and older cousins leave to fight. Soon, Anesa must stay home for safety. The family loses power and must subsist on leftovers and canned foods; Anesa misses her mother’s cooking. Gunfire, explosions, and tanks become commonplace. Anesa’s mother instructs her to pack a bag of clothes. A few days later, Anesa reluctantly leaves Bobi behind with her grandparents and the family frantically flees their home. “There was no time to stop and cry. I had to stay strong and keep going,” Anesa narrates. Anesa is briefly separated from her mother and younger sister, but they find one another and soon reunite with Anesa’s father. The family boards a truck that takes them to a United Nations refugee camp. Preparing to sleep on a hard floor far from the comforts of home, Anesa hugs her teddy bear and hopes she will one day see Bobi again. Kajtazovic’s storytelling is straightforward and gripping, with a pace and intensity that reflect the urgency of fleeing war. The author describes events simply without sacrificing emotional impact in lines like, “In the street, everyone was running in the same direction. Some were still wearing pajamas. Most people were shouting or crying. I felt like I was in a scary movie.” Anesa’s sincere bond with Bobi will be relatable to pet lovers. Somova’s detailed facial illustrations show how war changes Anesa’s once carefree demeanor to one that is anxious and fearful. Unfortunately, the story ends abruptly without a resolution regarding Anesa’s or Bobi’s fates.
A powerful and realistic depiction of the refugee experience that lacks closure.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Little Blue Truck keeps on truckin’—but not without some backfires.
Little Blue Truck feels, well, blue when he delivers valentine after valentine but receives nary a one.
His bed overflowing with cards, Blue sets out to deliver a yellow card with purple polka dots and a shiny purple heart to Hen, one with a shiny fuchsia heart to Pig, a big, shiny, red heart-shaped card to Horse, and so on. With each delivery there is an exchange of Beeps from Blue and the appropriate animal sounds from his friends, Blue’s Beeps always set in blue and the animal’s vocalization in a color that matches the card it receives. But as Blue heads home, his deliveries complete, his headlight eyes are sad and his front bumper droops ever so slightly. Blue is therefore surprised (but readers may not be) when he pulls into his garage to be greeted by all his friends with a shiny blue valentine just for him. In this, Blue’s seventh outing, it’s not just the sturdy protagonist that seems to be wilting. Schertle’s verse, usually reliable, stumbles more than once; stanzas such as “But Valentine’s Day / didn’t seem much fun / when he didn’t get cards / from anyone” will cause hitches during read-alouds. The illustrations, done by Joseph in the style of original series collaborator Jill McElmurry, are pleasant enough, but his compositions often feel stiff and forced.
Little Blue Truck keeps on truckin’—but not without some backfires. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-358-27244-1
Page Count: 20
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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