A clever, vividly illustrated book about learning from mistakes.
A girl learns that practice makes magic in author/illustrator Zadek’s (Monsieur Pierre, 2017, as Anne Dana) picture book.
Houdini Carini, the Caucasian daughter of stage magicians, can’t wait to be a magician herself. But when her parents give her a massive magic-trick encyclopedia, her first thought is, “This will take WAAAY too long.” She decides to perform a card trick, but instead of practicing it, she rehearses taking a bow; her resulting performance produces card chaos. Undeterred, she picks out another trick for show and tell, but lack of preparation results in hamsters all over the classroom; one of Zadek’s brightly colored ink-and-watercolor illustrations shows humorous expressions on the children’s faces. After another half-understood trick floods the streets with water (in a wordless, two-page spread), Houdini is miserable. She then accepts her mother’s challenge to master a trick from the encyclopedia’s beginning, and she finally realizes the value of practice. Overall, young readers will find Houdini’s enthusiasm relatable, and the expressive illustrations reveal both her actions and her emotions; they also show an array of different skin tones for secondary characters. For kids who are eager to jump into activities with both feet, the protagonist’s struggles with starting small are sure to ring true, and her hard-earned success is worth celebrating.
A clever, vividly illustrated book about learning from mistakes.Pub Date: March 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-7323269-9-6
Page Count: 36
Publisher: L O Annie Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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