An older sister’s wedding makes a girl feel lonely at first, but she is ultimately caught up in the bonds created by this big family gathering. This child’s-eye view of matrimony picks up on the excitement of a large family wedding, plus the fears a child faces of losing an older sibling and of being overwhelmed by such a grown-up occasion. The adults include Daisy, the narrator, in all the pre-wedding planning; she is part of choosing a dress, food, and rooms for the big event. Soman’s illustrations get all the details, postures, and facial expressions right, especially those of the girl as she samples foods or plays dress up in a bridal veil. These scenes are funny and personal; anyone who’s been in a wedding will understand. In the end, the wedding unites rather than divides; sitting on the sofa with her family, the child’s fears disappear. The only deterrent in this warm book is the archaic sense that the bride is being “taken away” by her man, which may reflect Daisy’s perspective, but contradicts the impression readers have of “Sister” as an independent, thinking woman, who has chosen her groom just as he has chosen her. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-531-30139-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Picture-book debuts for both author and illustrator result in an affectionate glimpse of intergenerational bonds. Juno loves to get letters in the red-and-blue bordered airmail envelopes that come from his grandmother, who lives in Korea, near Seoul. He cannot read Korean, but he opens the letter anyway, and learns what he can from what his grandmother has sent: a photograph of herself and her new cat, and a dried flower from her garden. When his parents read him the letter, he realizes how much he learned from the other things his grandmother mailed to him. He creates some drawings of himself, his parents, house, and dog, and sends them along with a big leaf from his swinging tree. He gets back a package that includes drawing pencils and a small airplane—the grandmother is coming to visit. The messages that can be conveyed without words, language differences between generations, and family ties across great distances are gently and affectingly handled in this first picture book. The illustrations, done in oil-paint glazes, are beautifully lit; the characters, particularly Grandmother, with her bowl of persimmons, her leafy garden, and her grey bun that looks “like a powdered doughnut,” are charming. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-670-88252-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PLB 0-517-70967-8 Me And My Family Tree (32 pp.; $13.00; PLB $14.99; May; 0-517-70966-X; PLB 0-517-70967-8): For children who are naturally curious about the people who care for them (most make inquiries into family relationships at an early age), Sweeney explains, with the assistance of a young narrator, the concept of a family tree. Photographs become understandable once the young girl learns the relationships among family members; she wonders what her own family tree will look like when she marries and has children. A larger message comes at the end of this story: not only does she have a family tree, but so does everyone in the world. Cable’s drawings clearly define the process of creating a family tree; she provides a blank tree so children can start on their own geneaology.(Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-517-70966-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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