A lyrical and informative look at fetal development.
A fetus in utero poetically describes her physical development in this picture book.
From genetic formation (“DNA strands combining…Chromosomes click / into place, / Designing my blueprint”) to her debut as a newborn, a fetus chronicles her experience using descriptive imagery and expressive language. The fetus discusses complex cellular processes that facilitate growth, such as how cells divide, multiply, change shape, connect, and rearrange: “Stitching and knitting, / Carefully connecting me top to bottom.” As the gestation period progresses, a “sacred symphony” occurs when the fetus’s “heart starts ticking.” Soon, physical features form, including a spine and limbs. Blood pumps through veins, and nerves tingle. Brain cells construct “pathways, / Growing future thoughts.” The text is interspersed with sentiments from the narrator to her mother: “Hello Mom, I had the hiccups today. I heard you laugh.”As the fetus becomes bigger, the “senses are awakening.” She can breathe and swallow. With “arms and legs curled up tight, / Pushing and kicking,” she relies on instinct to guide her. Soon, the baby girl faces her beaming mother. Utilizing active, rhythmic language (“Cells swirl and scatter, / Then whirl and settle”), Grimbeek offers educational insights into biological events. The narrator’s explanations here will be most suitable for families experiencing pregnancy. Some of the author’s illustrations feature black-and-white anatomical images reminiscent of ultrasounds and X-rays. Others include realistic portrayals of the fetus’s changing appearance and the newborn in glowing shades of pink, orange, and purple.
A lyrical and informative look at fetal development.Pub Date: Nov. 25, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73476-696-7
Page Count: 42
Publisher: Belinda Grimbeek
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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