This may make children think twice about splashing, but hopefully it won’t make them run screaming from the sidewalk every...
A tiny tot likes puddles, but with so many things beneath the surface it might not be wise to splash in them.
A white child (friends of other races join in group shots and background vignettes) with a mop of shaggy brown hair and red rubber boots is about to step into a puddle. On every page, readers can see what lies underneath. Sometimes it is fanciful: pirates or bearded merpeople playing water polo. But other times it just may be a crocodile waiting to snap (the crocs have dinner napkins comically tied around their necks, but their wide, toothy grins are still a bit menacing). One time the child even falls into a deep puddle (here the book requires that readers turn it 90 degrees to appreciate the puddle’s depth): “You’ll sink and sink / and go straight down— / straight down through / the planet … / tumbling past the / sandstone, / the fossils, / and the / granite.” The most dreaded puddle of all is the one that contains “the BIG BAD rubber ducky.” Avoid that one at all costs. Debut author Faulks falters on the rhythm and scansion at times and relies on the occasional sluggish word choice or two, but he doesn’t lack in imagination. Contrary to the title, however, none of the puddles—or even any of the puddle-stomping boots—are muddy at all. Every preschooler in storytime will point that out.
This may make children think twice about splashing, but hopefully it won’t make them run screaming from the sidewalk every time it rains. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 13, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-627-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A disappointing follow-up.
Inventor Izzy Gizmo is back in this sequel to her eponymous debut (2017).
While busily inventing one day, Izzy receives an invitation from the Genius Guild to their annual convention. Though Izzy’s “inventions…don’t always work,” Grandpa (apparently her sole caregiver) encourages her to go. The next day they undertake a long journey “over fields, hills, and waves” and “mile after mile” to isolated Technoff Isle. There, Izzy finds she must compete against four other kids to create the most impressive machine. The colorful, detail-rich illustrations chronicle how poor Izzy is thwarted at every turn by Abi von Lavish, a Veruca Salt–esque character who takes all the supplies for herself. But when Abi abandons her project, Izzy salvages the pieces and decides to take Grandpa’s advice to create a machine that “can really be put to good use.” A frustrated Izzy’s impatience with a friend almost foils her chance at the prize, but all’s well that ends well. There’s much to like: Brown-skinned inventor girl Izzy is an appealing character, it’s great to see a nurturing brown-skinned male caregiver, the idea of an “Invention Convention” is fun, and a sustainable-energy invention is laudable. However, these elements don’t make up for rhymes that often feel forced and a lackluster story.
A disappointing follow-up. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68263-164-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
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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