A robust lead-in to Cheryl Harness’ They’re Off! (2002) and other more detailed histories.
Horses and rider tackle time, distance, and the elements in this tribute to a legendary Pony Express gallop.
As Rose freely admits, “legendary” may be just the word for Cody’s claim to have been a Pony Express rider. Nonetheless, in galloping rhyme she sends him on his way across Wyoming and back in a dawn-to-dawn dash that Lillington illustrates with scenes of the teenager pounding along past buttes and buffalo, through heavy rain, beneath orange and star-speckled skies in turn. It’s a horsey sort of episode, as both words and pictures specify breeds or types with each change of mount along the trail: “Trade a Mustang for a Morgan, / ’Loosa for a Thoroughbred. / Racing, flying, / ever riding, / hurry, hurry on ahead.” A double-page spread that presents eight separate vignettes of Cody on eight different horses as the sky darkens provides effective visual counterpoint to the verse. A final view of the horse and rider wearily finishing their long route as the sun begins to rise once again gives way to a painted portrait of the grown Buffalo Bill resplendent in his buckskins. The author fills in the historical details in an afterword with period illustrations. Human figures in all the pictures are white.
A robust lead-in to Cheryl Harness’ They’re Off! (2002) and other more detailed histories. (afterword) (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8075-7068-5
Page Count: 37
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
A pretty but overworked addition to the well-stocked shelf of tributes to a silent but nonetheless eloquent voice for peace.
The story of “Hiroshima’s most famous victim” is matched to delicate sepia illustrations decorated with images of brightly patterned origami cranes.
Oozing sentimentality so gooey it’s a wonder the pages can be separated, this version of the often told tale is narrated by Sadako's cat. It opens with a peaceful August morning overshadowed by a “huge black cloud” before cutting ahead 10 years to Sadako’s hospitalization. The cat curls up in her lap to share visions of future outings together (which seems at best an insensitive brand of comfort). The cat recounts how the girl “fell gently asleep and flew away with 1000 paper cranes” and then embarks on a mission to “carry Sadako’s story out into the world.” Though the numerous folded cranes shine out against pale backdrops in the fine-lined illustrations, Loske depicts the cat as disquietingly eyeless until a final view and, along with Sadako and the other white-faced human figures, with fiery red cheek patches that look like clown makeup. In her afterword, the author assures readers that Sadako “actually lived,” but this mannered, anemic portrayal of that life isn’t likely to make them care.
A pretty but overworked addition to the well-stocked shelf of tributes to a silent but nonetheless eloquent voice for peace. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2015
ISBN: 978-988-8341-00-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2015
A serene, simply retold tale of dreams pursued and achieved.
A young musician finds a clever way to play to a royal audience in this tale from ancient Persia.
Drawn from Ferdowsi’s 11th-century Book of Kings, the tale describes how the dream of Barbad (a seventh-century historical figure) to become King Khosrow’s resident minstrel was blocked by the refusal of Sarkash, the jealous incumbent, to allow him into the palace. Barbad gets his audition at last, however, by painting himself green, hiding in a tree in the royal gardens, and playing from concealment until the delighted king calls him down. Though decorated with peacocks and other Eastern images, Ewart’s watercolor illustrations are done in a realistic rather than “Persian miniature” style and set the episode amid verdant hills and rich interiors awash in candlelit gold. In this general atmosphere of peace and plenty, everyone, even Sarkash (at first), looks happy and smiles engagingly. The artist sometimes has Barbad playing his oud left-handed, sometimes right-, but his face is alight with character, and she leaves him at the end glancing up at viewers with a dimpled grin of well-deserved triumph.
A serene, simply retold tale of dreams pursued and achieved. (source and background notes) (Picture book/folk tale. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-937786-42-7
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Wisdom Tales
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2015
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