An (av)i(a)nvitation to wonder.
This wordless picture book invites readers to make meaning of its mysterious characters’ flights.
Golden endpapers match the colorful birds that fly about the face of a girl rendered in muted grayscale tones on the jacket art, as well as the single yellow bird that flies on the frontmatter page preceding the title page. From this point on, black, white, and grays dominate the dreamlike spreads. At first, stunning portraits of the girl with an aviator’s cap occupy the recto pages while facing versos are illustrated with pictures of birds in flight. These slowly zoom in on a single bird, which begins to shift its shape into the human form of a little boy. Meanwhile, the pictures of the girl zoom out to reveal that her outfit includes a pair of wings. When the bird-turned-boy lands, the girl takes flight, and subsequent turns of the page show her transformation into a bird. A dreamy sense of mystery is reinforced by the image on the back of the jacket, which shows the girl asleep, her flight goggles hanging around her neck and two little yellow birds perched on her hand and shoulder. There isn’t much story here, and it’s not clear which bird or bird-child the title refers to, but there’s ample beauty to behold.
An (av)i(a)nvitation to wonder. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-927018-64-4
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Simply Read
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
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
Pedestrian.
Mr. Brown can’t help with farm chores because his shoes are missing—a common occurrence in his household and likely in many readers’ as well.
Children will be delighted that the titular Mr. Brown is in fact a child. After Mr. Brown looks in his closet and sorts through his other family members’ shoes with no luck, his father and his siblings help him search the farm. Eventually—after colorful pages that enable readers to spot footwear hiding—the family gives up on their hunt, and Mr. Brown asks to be carried around for the chores. He rides on his father’s shoulders as Papa gets his work done, as seen on a double-page spread of vignettes. The resolution is more of a lesson for the adult readers than for children, a saccharine moment where father and son express their joy that the missing shoes gave them the opportunity for togetherness—with advice for other parents to appreciate those fleeting moments themselves. Though the art is bright and cheerful, taking advantage of the setting, it occasionally is misaligned with the text (for example, the text states that Mr. Brown is wearing his favorite green shirt while the illustration is of a shirt with wide stripes of white and teal blue, which could confuse readers at the point where they’re trying to figure out which family member is Mr. Brown). The family is light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Pedestrian. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5460-0389-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: WorthyKids/Ideals
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
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