Clumsy in places but with many charming moments.
In Montesi’s debut chapter book, three children become friends as they learn about themselves, the world around them, and one another.
Elementary school student Beatrice is blonde, freckled, sporty, and loves treehouses. When she hears that Antoine, a red-haired boy in her neighborhood whom she doesn’t know very well, has built one, she feels compelled to go and see it. Antoine is glad that Beatrice is interested and makes an appointment to have tea with her the next day; he also invites his dark-haired, thin friend Giorgio. Antoine is precise and organized; Giorgio is curious and a little clumsy. After their first tea together, the three become friends. Giorgio, who loves animals, introduces Beatrice and Antoine to several different kinds, including red fish, a turtle, tadpoles, a hen, ducklings, multiple trout, and ants, while explaining how to observe and interpret their behaviors. Sometimes the interactions are playful, as when Giorgio seems to understand his pet turtle’s vanity and the need to flatter her; other times, the approach is more scientific, as when the children devise a test of their ducklings’ decision-making skills. The kids also race go-karts and attend a carnival. In these activities, the children discuss different approaches to life; for example, Giorgio is practical, while Beatrice is philosophical. But they find these differences intriguing rather than annoying: “We are all unique, and tolerance for each other makes us live in a world of endless discoveries,” concludes the third-person narrator. This final moral is laid on a little thick, and the book’s beginning is a bit confusing, with an initial “Introduction” followed by “The Real Introduction.” In between, though, Montesi offers many delightful scenes, some of which have an engaging poignancy. For example, the kids find that Clarissa, a hen, is hopelessly in love with Giorgio. Beatrice hilariously explains to the bird that “He will never be able to love you back, especially in the long run.” The kids then intuit that Clarissa believes that “Love is blind, and there is nothing I can do about it.” Such scenes offer much more pleasure than the book’s unsubtle messages about appreciating difference.
Clumsy in places but with many charming moments.Pub Date: June 8, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4834-6848-8
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Lulu
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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