The book is fun to look at, but it imparts so little real information that it really is not much use as a guide to different...
Thirty-four large cities of the world are illustrated in posterlike double-page spreads.
Each spread provides a selective guide to the tourist sites and important features of each city, including topography, architecture, typical cuisine, recreational activities, notable public artworks, historical features, sports arenas, and local customs. Tardif’s whimsical, colorful, graphically simple illustrations are arranged in a rough grid on the page, with a brief caption for each picture and the occasional speech bubble. There is no narrative to speak of, making this a difficult book for many American children to understand, and likewise for parents or teachers to communicate, given that few of them would have enough extraneous knowledge of such relatively obscure cities as Fez, Mumbai or Seoul to fill in the gaps. This unfortunately tends to reinforce stereotyping of people and places (Romans drive small Italian cars, eat pizza, and drink espresso; residents of Buenos Aires dance the tango, play soccer, and eat chorizo sandwiches). Most of the people depicted appear to be of the majority race in their respective countries. A brief glossary lists the few non-English words included, and endpapers show a world map marking the locations of the cities discussed.
The book is fun to look at, but it imparts so little real information that it really is not much use as a guide to different cities or the cultures they represent. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77138-721-7
Page Count: 72
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
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
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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