An endearingly homespun tale that could nevertheless better balance its entertainment and education.
Aimed at elementary schoolers, Wagner’s heartwarming salute to recycling features the reincarnation of a friendly bottle and can.
In jaunty, rhymed text, Wagner introduces readers to Arnie and Bing—“Arnie, a pickle jar, and Bing, a lemonade can, / gave each other a very quick scan” after they find themselves sharing a shopping cart at the grocery store. Chewing the fat at the checkout line, Arnie and Bing discover they share a love of singing. Once home and tucked away in the dark precincts of the refrigerator, the pair sings a few tunes to keep things from getting glum; this is the kind of trying situation that forges lifelong friendships. Inevitably comes the day that both friends’ contents have been consumed; Wagner doesn’t spare readers the frisson that runs through Arnie and Bing when they’re sent to the recycling bin, and when that bin gets dumped in a truck, then deposited on the single-stream recycling floor. That’s not to say readers will be terrified, but the writing is intimate enough for them to identify with Arnie and Bing’s predicament—“Jumbled and scrunched with the paper and plastic, / their journey had gone from scary to drastic.” What will likely be new information for kids comes when the sorting commences—and the high drama drops a notch. Wagner gives a step-by-step explanation of the recycling process, with the creation of cullets and ingots and the fashioning of new containers. The book’s many photos are particularly good at conveying the processing of bottles and cans. Otherwise, the artwork is of the minimalist-intervention school—real photos with the occasional appending of cartoon eyes and mouth if a can or bottle has something to say. But those eyes are critical when Arnie and Bing are reborn as a salsa bottle and fruit punch can respectively. “Hey, hey, Bing! I KNEW that was you! / I could never forget your eyes of blue!”
An endearingly homespun tale that could nevertheless better balance its entertainment and education.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2010
ISBN: 978-1451577693
Page Count: 32
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Sept. 22, 2011
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More gift book than storybook, this is a meaningful addition to nursery bookshelves
A young child explores the unlimited potential inherent in all humans.
“Have you ever wondered why you are here?” asks the second-person narration. There is no one like you. Maybe you’re here to make a difference with your uniqueness; maybe you will speak for those who can’t or use your gifts to shine a light into the darkness. The no-frills, unrhymed narrative encourages readers to follow their hearts and tap into their limitless potential to be anything and do anything. The precisely inked and colored artwork plays with perspective from the first double-page spread, in which the child contemplates a mountain (or maybe an iceberg) in their hands. Later, they stand on a ladder to place white spots on tall, red mushrooms. The oversized flora and fauna seem to symbolize the presumptively insurmountable, reinforcing the book’s message that anything is possible. This quiet read, with its sophisticated central question, encourages children to reach for their untapped potential while reminding them it won’t be easy—they will make messes and mistakes—but the magic within can help overcome falls and failures. It’s unlikely that members of the intended audience have begun to wonder about their life’s purpose, but this life-affirming mood piece has honorable intentions. The child, accompanied by an adorable piglet and sporting overalls and a bird-beaked cap made of leaves, presents white.
More gift book than storybook, this is a meaningful addition to nursery bookshelves . (Picture book. 2-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-946873-75-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: May 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
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