A dense rhyming journey through a fantastical world with no big scares or surprises.
A child finds a door leading to the land of dreams in Elliott’s picture book.
What is behind the door in the wall? It’s MollyMalloop, who might be a dragon and could be a bird. She sits waiting for a dreaming child to come through a mysterious snake-handled door. The brunette, pigtailed, light brown–skinned narrator journeys through that door into a candy-colored fantasy world packed with harmless fantasy creatures, including the small blueberry-shaped Blujovis and a bespectacled orange thing with no name. In a completely distinct second episode, the narrator crosses through the door again and rides in a log boat with a frog in a top hat. After a sedate, colorful adventure in the jungle, thunder wakes the narrator and ends her dream. Costello's silly watercolor illustrations animate lively, long-armed, and snub-nosed creatures in the fantastic dreamland and provide visual interest, though the balance of the pages is tilted heavily in favor of the long blocks of verse. Though narrative interest is minimal, the satisfying rhyming couplets (“On top of her hat was a red bean bag chair / held snuggly by horns that Snake said would be there. / A blue bean bag chair was strapped tight on her back / where I could stretch out to eat snacks from my pack”) and entertaining images make this good bedtime fare for young children.
A dense rhyming journey through a fantastical world with no big scares or surprises.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 9781039167520
Page Count: 40
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A lushly illustrated homage to librarians who provide a welcome and a home away from home for all who enter.
A love letter to libraries.
A Black child, with hair in two puffballs tied with yellow ribbons, a blue dress with a Peter Pan collar, and black patent leather Mary Janes, helps Grandmother with the housework, then, at Grandmother’s suggestion, heads to the library. The child’s eagerness to go, with two books under an arm and one in their hand, suggests that this is a favorite destination. The books’ wordless covers emphasize their endless possibilities. The protagonist’s description of the library makes clear that they are always free to be themselves there—whether they feel happy or sad, whether they’re reading mysteries or recipes, and whether they feel “quick and smart” or “contained and cautious.” Robinson’s vibrant, carefully composed digital illustrations, with bright colors that invite readers in and textures and patterns in every image, effectively capture the protagonist’s passion for reading and appreciation for a space where they feel accepted regardless of disposition. In her author’s note, Giovanni states that she spent summers visiting her grandmother in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she went to the Carnegie Branch of the Lawson McGhee Library. She expresses gratitude for Mrs. Long, the librarian, who often traveled to the main library to get books that Giovanni could not find in their segregated branch. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A lushly illustrated homage to librarians who provide a welcome and a home away from home for all who enter. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-358-38765-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Versify/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.
Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.
The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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