Fun for droid devotees.
In a galaxy far, far away, three robots take a sandy trek.
In the heat of desert planet Tatooine, persnickety C-3PO leads playful R2-D2 and BB-8 across the dunes on an important mission. Along their journey, the trio encounters familiar figures from the Star Wars franchise, including speedy podracers, hooded Jawas, and an enormous, shaggy bantha, and also name-drops other notables such as Gen. Leia and Rey. As in the films, R2 and BB-8 communicate only through beeps and boops; C-3PO carries most of the narrative with his endless fussing about keeping his cohorts on track with their mission and grumbling about the sand, which delights and preoccupies the smaller bots. When the threesome reports back to their ship for duty, uptight C-3PO takes a well-deserved bath while R2 and BB-8 provide gentle comic relief. This graphic offering features large, bright illustrations that stretch over its pages, employing a cheery, eye-catching blue-and-gold palette. Standing out prominently against the sky-blue backgrounds, the generously sized text bubbles are stark white, just perfect for emerging comics readers. The exact purpose of the mission is never explicitly stated, although its importance is often repeated—think Waiting for Godot through a Star Wars lens. Young readers should relate to the experience of receiving vague orders with simultaneous injunctions not to get dirty.
Fun for droid devotees. (Graphic early reader. 5-9)Pub Date: June 4, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-368-04346-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Disney Lucasfilm
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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