It turns out that dance can be good for the stomach.
A food obsession takes a girl into a bullfighting arena.
Pigtailed Maria, a Spaniard, has one true love: churros. One is good, many are great. Happily for her, she reads a poster that guarantees a “LIFETIME SUPPLY OF CHURROS TO THE MATADOR LONGEST IN THE ARENA.” Unhappily for her, Maria is not built to fight bulls. The other matadors are scornful of her, but once in the fight they are all bested. It is now Maria’s turn to face that “most ferocious-looking bull.” She walks up to him and does not fight or wave her cape; rather, she invites him to dance. The bull has never heard this request, having only ever faced aggressive opponents. In a lovely double-page spread, the animal and Maria, fan in hand, show off their graceful moves. They are next seen happily enjoying churros at Maria’s table. Memories of another famous bull, Ferdinand, come to mind as beauty bests fighting. While Lambelet’s tale is purposefully pacifist, caregivers dealing with a child who will eat only one food may not appreciate the conclusion; others will wish for a note about churros, a fried dessert. The stylized pencil-and-digital illustrations depict angular humans and animals, and the color palette is primarily browns and purples. The typeface uses bold, capitalized words for emphasis.
It turns out that dance can be good for the stomach. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-62414-656-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2018
The snappy text will get toes tapping, but the information it carries is limited.
Dancing is one of the most universal elements of cultures the world over.
In onomatopoeic, rhyming text, Bolling encourages readers to dance in styles including folk dance, classical ballet, breakdancing, and line dancing. Read aloud, the zippy text will engage young children: “Tappity Tap / Fingers Snap,” reads the rhyme on the double-page spread for flamenco; “Jiggity-Jig / Zig-zag-zig” describes Irish step dancing. The ballet pages stereotypically include only children in dresses or tutus, but one of these dancers wears hijab. Overall, children included are racially diverse and vary in gender presentation. Diaz’s illustrations show her background in animated films; her active child dancers generally have the large-eyed sameness of cartoon characters. The endpapers, with shoes and musical instruments, could become a matching game with pages in the book. The dances depicted are described at the end, including kathak from India and kuku from Guinea, West Africa. Unfortunately, these explanations are quite rudimentary. Kathak dancers use their facial expressions extensively in addition to the “movements of their hands and their jingling feet,” as described in the book. Although today kuku is danced at all types of celebrations in several countries, it was once done after fishing, an activity acknowledged in the illustrations but not mentioned in the explanatory text.
The snappy text will get toes tapping, but the information it carries is limited. (Informational picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-63592-142-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An early reader that kids will want to befriend.
In an odd-couple pairing of Bear and Chipmunk, only one friend is truly happy to spend the day at the beach.
“Not me!” is poor Chipmunk’s lament each time Bear expresses the pleasure he takes in sunning, swimming, and other activities at the beach. While controlled, repetitive text makes the story accessible to new readers, slapstick humor characterizes the busy watercolor-and-ink illustrations and adds interest. Poor Chipmunk is pinched by a crab, buried in sand, and swept upside down into the water, to name just a few mishaps. Although other animal beachgoers seem to notice Chipmunk’s distress, Bear cheerily goes about his day and seems blithely ignorant of his friend’s misfortunes. The playful tone of the illustrations helps soften the dynamic so that it doesn’t seem as though Chipmunk is in grave danger or that Bear is cruel. As they leave at the end of the book Bear finally asks, “Why did you come?” and Chipmunk’s sweet response caps off the day with a warm sunset in the background.
An early reader that kids will want to befriend. (Early reader. 5-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3546-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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