Filled with ambiance-saturated illustrations, this clever story delivers a lighthearted take on the “be yourself” theme.
Translated from the original German into English and brought to the U.S. by a Spanish publisher, author/illustrator Steinitz’s picture book tells a story of a town populated by people who look just like their dogs—with two exceptions.
Leonora, a full-bodied, opera-loving lady in a dress with blue swirls, owns Fidelio, a skinny orange dog, and Carmelo, a skinny man with orange hair and suit, owns Pistachia, a rotund blue-swirled dog. Fidelio, like Leonora, loves the opera and “sings” to it, while Carmelo loves making chocolate bonbons, which Pistachia loves to eat (a note on the title page cautions readers that chocolate is not good for dogs). Alas, because Leonora and Carmelo don’t look like their dogs, the townspeople mock them. When they accidently meet, they think they’ve found the solution: trade dogs so they match. But all four are miserable until they come up with their own independent-minded solution. Steinitz’s illustrations are rendered in warmly saturated hues and printed on stone paper. Myriad visual cues (palm trees, Moorish architecture, shop signs) exude a distinctly Spanish town ambiance while other details (a portrait of Beethoven, composer of Fidelio, hangs on Leonora’s wall) enhance the story. All people shown are light-skinned with the exception of one dark-skinned child, who is portrayed with enlarged lips. Although the illustrations and story are accomplished, there are two unfortunate typos in which “where” is incorrectly used for “were.”
Filled with ambiance-saturated illustrations, this clever story delivers a lighthearted take on the “be yourself” theme. (Picture book. 4-10)Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-84-16733-34-7
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Cuento de Luz
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
A sweet story about falling in love with reading.
Told from the point of view of the pet cat, this story shows a reading family and the incremental ways in which a child learns to love books.
A toddler-age boy and his father, who both have beige skin and brown hair, pick out a book every night to read before bed, and the cat thrills to know it’s “Rectangle Time.” That means a “furry nuzzle” against the corners of the book as the father reads The Snowy Day aloud to his child. Time passes with the page turns, marked in the narrative by the cat’s surprise to see the boy, now a bit older, reading an Encyclopedia Brown book on his own and, after that, the even older lad reading rectangles that are “awfully small” (squinting readers will see it’s The Hobbit). The cat’s self-centered but affectionate voice is entertaining as he remarks that the boy is so engaged in reading that he momentarily dismisses his pet. The story, with its warmly colored watercolor illustrations and expressive feline, feels like a primer for adults on how to get their kids to fall in love with books: The house is filled with them; the (apparently single) dad models reading; and he regularly read aloud to the boy before his son could do so himself. (The author, currently the New York Times Book Review editor, co-authored an actual primer, How To Raise a Reader, 2019, with María Russo, that outlet’s former children’s-books editor.) It’s not a story with a climax or falling action, but the resolution—in the end, the cat merely decides that sleeping on the boy’s face will do—will still satisfy readers, especially book and cat lovers everywhere. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-16-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
A sweet story about falling in love with reading. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-11511-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.
All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.
Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
