An old-fashioned story with timeless appeal.
“The Hudson River is smooth or choppy. It is blue or gray. It is swift or sluggish depending on the day.”
On the Hudson River, if you look closely, you will find a cheerful yellow tugboat called Bill and a pleasant but leaky barge named Mabel who are friends. Brightly colored illustrations capture the feeling of bygone times, and gentle rhymes full of alliteration bounce briskly along as the two maneuver through choppy waves and cool, lazy water to perform their various duties (Bill pushes or pulls, while Mabel transports gravel). The other boats on the river are ships, bigger and slicker and also more arrogant and condescending, particularly toward poor Mabel, but the two friends just pretend not to hear them. Then one day, a kitten falls into the water, and only Mabel comes to its aid. When the newspaper comes out the following day, you can bet the big ships have changed their tunes, but even better than that, the two boats have made a new friend. Sure to be a favorite with young listeners, this warm and comforting selection, eminently suitable for bedtime or laptime reading, has the feeling of a classic to be savored. Carpenter’s retro-styled illustrations employ the time-honored convention of representing eyes as windows (lashed in the case of Mabel’s and frowning in the cases of the mean boats'), the primary palette further adding to the old-time feel of the illustrations.
An old-fashioned story with timeless appeal. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Feb. 21, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-236618-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2016
A simplistic, outdated take on Diwali for young children.
It’s Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, and Binny can’t wait to tell her class about her favorite holiday.
On their way through their North American suburb to school, Binny’s mother wishes her luck and reminds her to tell her class about the oil lamps that are a central part of their family’s Diwali tradition. But when Binny’s teacher, Mr. Boomer, invites her to share, Binny freezes, overcome with shyness. Taking a deep breath, she remembers her mother’s advice. The thought of the world filled with light—symbolizing the triumph of good over evil—gives Binny the strength she needs to tell her family’s Diwali story. While the book is thorough in its description of traditions like wearing new clothes, eating sweets, lighting lamps, and decorating floors and sidewalks with colored powder, the prose is clunky and clumsy, and Binny’s conflict is resolved so quickly that the story arc feels limp and uninteresting. Other elements of the text are troubling as well. Calling Binny’s new clothes an “Indian outfit,” for example, erases the fact that the kurta she wears is typical of the entire South Asian subcontinent. The use of most fireworks, which the author treats as an essential part of the holiday, is now banned in India due to concerns about pollution and child labor. Most problematically of all, the author continually treats Diwali as a Hindu holiday celebrated by “everyone,” which is untrue in India or in diaspora and which dangerously equates Hindu and Indian identity. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads reviewed at 49% of actual size.)
A simplistic, outdated take on Diwali for young children. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-36448-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
Funny, feathery finesse.
In this wordless picture book, a fledgling robin with a vivid imagination keeps resisting its father’s encouragement to fly.
The first double-page spread clearly and cleverly shows a sequence in which a young robin in its nest passes gradually from the stage of pink and un-feathered to fluffy and then flight-ready. The father robin has been busily stuffing the child’s beak with whole worms, another signal that the youngster is maturing. Bold brush strokes and strong colors depict the birds, their nest on a branch, and surrounding foliage—with plenty of negative space to make room for speech bubbles. The “speech” consists of clear images showing a comical struggle between parent and child. Most of the “conversation” takes place on the ground, after the fledgling has inadvertently tumbled from its nest. The anthropomorphic facial expressions and body language are laugh-out-loud funny, as are the fledgling’s ridiculous, naïve pictorial retorts to every reason the adult gives for learning to fly. The baby imagines itself using all kinds of transportation—including, but not limited to, gaily colored hot air balloons, skateboards, and trains—and the father becomes increasingly frustrated. Children will giggle at the power struggle, recognizing human behaviors. Robins, like humans, share all aspects of parenting, and it is commendable that the art depicts this parent as male. As nightfall approaches, the adult finally succeeds in motivating its child, leading to a harmonious concluding scene.
Funny, feathery finesse. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-5128-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
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