A wholesome story about community whose message is more inspiring than its prose.
The sixth installment of Delauney’s Owning the Dashpicture book series follows two young brothers who take on household responsibilities.
When Mom falls off her bike and breaks her leg, brothers Luke and Iver make a list of chores they can do while she’s recovering: cleaning, cooking, looking after the family dog. They also aim to help pay some bills by selling brownies. As the days go by, all this work takes its toll on the brothers. They grow fatigued and fall behind at school. One day, they wake to find all the neighborhood kids (portrayed as ethnically diverse, with one girl in a wheelchair) have come to help them complete their to-do list. So successful are these joint efforts, the kids make a pact always to be there for one another. Delauney writes with heart and enthusiasm, but with no clear appreciation of meter, leading to a narrative that contorts itself in search of end rhymes. For example: “As Iver finished reading, they heard the doorbell ring. / Luke rushed to open the front door and jumped back smiling. / ‘Who is it?’ Iver demanded. ‘Who is at the door?’ / Luke gazed back at his brother. ‘Honestly, I’m not sure.’” Textual flow notwithstanding, young readers will likely respond well to the brothers’ good intentions and upbeat approach to family obligations, their bright outlook reflected in Civati’s open, pastel digital illustrations. Plot and picture combine nicely together to convey a sense of community.
A wholesome story about community whose message is more inspiring than its prose.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 9798891380837
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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