Combines masterful storytelling with fun and affection; deserves to be a children’s classic.
A girl does her best to cheer up when her beloved sailboat is washed away in the rain in this delightful children’s book.
Somewhere in the cold north “not very long ago,” a little girl—the jolly Bupbup—lives with her two cats, black and yellow, in her brick house next to the woods. Bupbup looks as jolly as her nature, with rosy fair skin, a round body and big round eyes, and red-orange hair that sticks straight up. But one day, “a very dreadful thing” happens. Heavy rains make the river rise so much that Bupbup’s sailboat floats away. Having no umbrella, she can’t retrieve it, and the cats are no help since they hate getting their feet wet. Afterward, Bupbup heads outdoors to splash around the river in her puddle boots, taking care not to step on any fish: “That would not be kind.” She discovers something hiding under a big tree and wonders if it’s a Twinkle—elusive but good-natured creatures. But instead, it’s her boat, which a thoughtful duck helps her disentangle from the branches. Bupbup, her cats, and the duck go for a nice sail, hoping to partake in a Twinkle tea party. In her debut book, Borrmann shows a light, deft hand and an agreeably old-fashioned tone, cozy but not sentimental. Bupbup’s cheerfulness and compassion together with the story’s humor are greatly appealing. Borrmann uses repetition well, such as the phrase “dreadful thing,” to build anticipation and create rhythm. The opening page shows Borrmann’s facility with verse as well as prose: “Twinkles are glee-hearted, / Just as pleasant as can be, / And you cannot fail to notice that / On Thursdays they take tea.” The kinetic, stylized illustrations (uncredited) are beguiling, composed with skewed proportions that nicely echo the text.
Combines masterful storytelling with fun and affection; deserves to be a children’s classic.Pub Date: May 27, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-228-82830-3
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Tellwell Talent
Review Posted Online: Aug. 5, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Another endearing and amusing outing with these winsome characters.
The Crayons love a holiday, and Mother’s Day is no exception.
Every color is different, and so is every mom. Purple’s mother, seated cross-legged in a yoga pose, “doesn’t color inside the lines.” Red’s works tirelessly to support her family, which sometimes means missing holidays. White Crayon adores his mother, “even though he can’t see her” (the accompanying image shows both crayons fading into the white background), while pale lime green Esteban’s mom supports his “dreams of adventure” by helping him pack. All the Crayons celebrate their families on this day, and not all the parents look like their children or are mothers. Laudably, Daywalt and Jeffers depict a variety of different families, allowing many readers to feel seen: Black can’t contain her love for both her mothers, the hair-covered brownish-beige Barfy Crayon embraces his stepmom, Chunky Toddler (a chubby crayon with a bite taken out of him) pays tribute to his dad on Mother’s Day, Yellow and Orange honor their grandmother, and Maroon, presumably adopted, sings the praises of his mom, a pot of glue who literally holds the family together. As in previous Crayon books, Jeffers’ elegantly quirky and humorous illustrations complement Daywalt’s delightful text, which adeptly balances humor and heart.
Another endearing and amusing outing with these winsome characters. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780593624586
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Charming characters, a clever plot and a quiet message tucked inside a humorous tale.
Fuzzy, bearlike creatures of different sizes relate to one another in an amusing story that explores the relative nature of size.
A small purple creature meets a similarly shaped but much larger orange critter. The purple creature maintains that the orange creature is “big”; the orange one counters by calling the purple one “small.” This continues, devolving into a very funny shouting match, pages full of each type of creature hollering across the gutter. This is followed by a show-stopping double-page spread depicting two huge, blue legs and the single word “Boom!” in huge display type. Tiny, pink critters then float down by parachute, further complicating the size comparisons. Eventually, these brightly colored animals learn to see things in a different way. In the end, they decide they are all hungry and trudge off to eat together. The story is told effectively with just a few words per page, though younger readers might need help understanding the size and perspective concepts. Cartoon-style illustrations in ink and watercolor use simple shapes with heavy black outlines set off by lots of white space, with an oversized format and large typeface adding to the spare but polished design. While the story itself seems simple, the concepts are pertinent to several important social issues such as bullying and racism, as well as understanding point of view.
Charming characters, a clever plot and a quiet message tucked inside a humorous tale. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4778-4772-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Two Lions
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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