by Ann D. Koffsky ; illustrated by Ann D. Koffsky ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2019
The story calls for oomph and glory, but the illustrations don’t deliver.
The biblical story of Creation, seen through a theme of colors.
“In the beginning, there was nothing. No colors at all,” reads the first page, showing a dark gray, canvas-textured background; abstract black and gray cutouts sit in front of it while bits of dark blue peek out from behind it. The architect here is God, unseen and ungendered, spelled out in Christian/mainstream tradition (though the author’s note calls the day of rest “Shabbat,” a Jewish term). God’s creations are mapped onto colors: The spread about skies and oceans is blue while the one about trees and grasses is green. Some mappings, such as pinks for fishes, feel arbitrary. On the first day, when God “separate[s] the crisp, strong blacks / from the wintry, pale whites,” the cutout design resembles a web or net—but with sharp, nonrepeating shapes rather than geometrical repetition. Dim light illuminates the netting-shapes on the black page but doesn’t make them, as the text claims, “crisp.” On “day four” (sun, moon, stars), the low-saturation oranges aren’t “burning” as claimed—though the facing page does blaze thanks to yellows and unacknowledged red. God’s first two humans—unnamed and ungendered, one with medium-light orange-brown skin and short, straight hair, the other with very pale skin and long, loosely-curly brown hair tumbling downward—face demurely away from readers among vine-shaped cutouts.
The story calls for oomph and glory, but the illustrations don’t deliver. (author’s note) (Picture book/religion. 3-6)Pub Date: April 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68115-545-6
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Apples & Honey Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
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by Temple Grandin with Ann D. Koffsky
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by Ann D. Koffsky ; illustrated by Ann D. Koffsky
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by Vivian Kirkfield ; illustrated by Jill Weber ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 12, 2019
In the end too much is left unanswered, making this book pleasant but only passable
A mouse searches for and finally finds her missing Seder plate.
Pippa is an industrious house-cleaning mouse. And no wonder—Passover is starting this very evening. Dusting and sweeping finished, she turns her attention to setting the table as a pot of chicken stew bubbles away on the stovetop. But there is one very important object that is missing: the “special Seder plate.” Frantically, the mouse searches through boxes and cupboards and finally ventures into the yard. First she encounters a very large cat and asks if it has seen the plate. “No,” answers the cat and points her to a snake, who sends her to an owl, who directs her to Golda Fish, prettily swimming in the water. Success! Kirkfield’s little tale is written in rhyming couplets with much repetition of “QUIVER! QUAVER! SHIVER! SHAKE!” for emphasis with each interaction with a predator, so readers will be mightily puzzled when the formerly frightful critters join Pippa at the holiday table. Weber’s gouache, crayon, and collage illustrations are sweetly pretty. The final illustration features a Seder plate with transliterated Hebrew and an English translation of the components. Readers familiar with the holiday may find this mildly enjoyable, but others will likely want and need more information.
In the end too much is left unanswered, making this book pleasant but only passable . (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4162-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
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by Vivian Kirkfield ; illustrated by Alison Jay
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by Vivian Kirkfield ; illustrated by Gilbert Ford
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by Chrissy Metz & Bradley Collins ; illustrated by Lisa Fields ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 14, 2023
Stick to separate books about parental love and prayer instead.
This Is Us actor Metz and her partner, songwriter Collins, present a rhyming children’s book about prayer and parental love.
“When I talk to God, guess what I do? / It’s really quite simple: I talk about you.” Fields’ pencil and digital illustrations show different parent-child animal pairs throughout, from bears to otters to skunks, ducks, deer, and more. But from this auspicious beginning, the authors’ point of view and direct address to “you,” the child, makes the majority of the pages seem like affirmations of what they love about their child and not what the parent actually prays for. Adults reading this aloud may see this as a prayer of thanksgiving for their child’s gifts and qualities, but little listeners will not make that connection. In the final pages, the parent tells the child that they can talk to God, too, and that God is always by their side. The last spread states, “You’re my sweetest prayer.” While the individual parts are sweet and affirming of a parent’s love and pride in their child, the sum of those parts isn’t what’s advertised in the title and repetitive refrain “When I talk to God, / I talk about you.” The gentle artwork in soft colors anthropomorphizes the animals’ facial expressions to make their loving relationships clear. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Stick to separate books about parental love and prayer instead. (Religious picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-52524-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
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