Wood (A Cowboy Christmas, 2001, etc.) has retold—and refashioned—a century-old German tale into an engaging, romantic story of the seasons. Mother Earth awakes the Root Children and gathers bits of rainbow for them to make their colorful clothes. The children then wake the bugs and paint them in jewel colors. Aunt Spring welcomes the children in their bright and sweet-scented finery, and when she returns to her bed of ferns and lilies, Cousin Summer enters the scene. Soon, though, studious Uncle Fall arrives, and Mother Earth gathers the Root Children, who leave their brightly colored garments behind. The “masquerade” is over, and the Root Children are tucked in once again for the winter. Bittinger’s (The Rocking Horse Christmas, 1997, etc.) rich oils show a multicultural group of Root Children, who gambol and play in fields, woods, and gardens in the sumptuous colors of forest and meadow. The original, published in German in 1906 by Sibylle von Olfers, was in verse; an early English translation is much more didactic and wordy. In both, the boy Root Children do the painting, the girl Root Children make the clothing, and they come to the earth to do their job, which is to become a profusion of plants, flowers, and grasses. Wood’s tale changes the Root Children’s activities from work to play—not a bad thing, but a definite difference. This can be enjoyed with no knowledge or reference to the earlier tale, of course, and is quite charming in word and image. A song, “Root Children Sleep,” completes the package. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-590-42517-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
What if the market was closed when you wanted to bake a pie? You could embark for Europe, learn Italian en route, and pick up some semolina wheat in Italy, an egg in France, kurundu bark for cinnamon in Sri Lanka, and an entire cow in England (butter) before coming home via Jamaica (sugar) and Vermont (apples). The expertly designed illustrations in which a dark-haired lass journeys by various means to these interesting places to get her groceries are lovely and lively, and the narrative, too, travels at a spritely pace. The journey is neither quite logical enough to be truly informative nor quite bizarre enough to be satisfyingly silly, while the rich, sweet recipe that's appended will take some adult assistance. Still, fun. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: May 2, 1994
ISBN: 0-679-83705-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1994
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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