An artist with several fine books set in Africa to her credit (The Village of Round and Square Houses, 1986, Caldecott Honor) experiments with collages of photographic images (from the National Geographic and similar sources) of people, artifacts, etc., sometimes reversed or with their colors exaggerated, to create what she terms "magical realism." The resulting art is expressive and elegantly designed, while the book's format, enhanced with repetitive decorative motifs, is handsome. The story, evoking the feelings of a pregnant mother and the daughter ("Nsia") she lets run flee, aware that the new baby will force Nsia into responsibility all too soon, is lyrically in tune with the book's intent as a tribute to traditional life on the Niger. But, unfortunately, the art works less well as illustration: for all the artist's skill in manipulating the images, it has a static quality, in part because the same portraits are often reused in different settings. Somehow, in the reader's imagination, these images never quite become characters. Still, Grifalconi's imaginative approach makes for a striking, if not wholly effective, offering. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-316-32866-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A twisted take on an old standard that just may have readers rewriting their own favorites.
An omniscient narrator battles Hansel and Gretel for control of the story…and loses, to readers’ delight.
At the start, this seems like the standard fairy tale, but it’s not long before the siblings are contradicting the narrator: “What kind of person SAVES bread crumbs?” Gretel asks, and Hansel adds, “It’s a time of great famine. If there are bread crumbs left, we eat them.” These cheeky retorts only grow more numerous as the tale continues. Gretel also flexes her feminist muscles, demanding the title be “Gretel and Hansel” and that she not do chores while Hansel gets fattened up on a candy diet (or swells from a sensitivity to strawberries, as it turns out: “Food allergies are NOT a joke”). Eventually, the narrator gives up trying to fix the tale and gives the two full control, and things quickly get out of hand: Both end up sporting mustaches, there’s a unicorn named Fluffybottom, and the kids are reunited with their completely innocent parents. Taylor’s digital illustrations take the loony text several steps farther, and readers will enjoy the cameos from characters from other familiar tales. Hansel, Gretel, and their parents present white, and the witch is literally white, with a long, pink nose.
A twisted take on an old standard that just may have readers rewriting their own favorites. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5039-0294-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Two Lions
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018
This is more than just a book about making and engineering: Make an excellent choice to add this to the shelves.
Follow along as a child makes a spaceship, a friend, and a difference in her community.
“Ask yourself this question in the morning when you wake: / in a world of possibilities, today, what will you make?” Upon waking up, a young girl uses her imagination and things she has at home to make a tower, a drum set, and a spaceship. When she ventures outside, she makes a new friend. Working together, they make a lemonade stand and then make a donation to the local park. Finally, they make a choice to help more in order to make a difference in their community. Howes speaks to readers in rhyming verse about the many things they can make, intentionally repeating the verb throughout. Including themes of creativity, imagination, music, engineering, relationships, economics, and community service, she creates a powerful message about making choices to be proud of. Vukovic uses mixed media, including watercolors and crayon, to create lively, striking illustrations. The pictures capture a child’s imagination and how ordinary things can be made into something extraordinary. Together the text and the illustrations create an excellent read that will empower readers to reflect on their own lives and make a change or two or three. The unnamed protagonist has brown skin and long, dark braids; her friend presents white.
This is more than just a book about making and engineering: Make an excellent choice to add this to the shelves. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5124-9802-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
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