Confusing motivation and lifeless illustrations sink this story about a little boy’s big “lies.”
A little boy views his everyday life from a bigger-is-better perspective in this picture book for the early grade school set.
“My pancakes are SO yummy that the President of the United States comes to eat breakfast at MY house!” A little boy named Bobby seems to have a most unusual life in Umetsu’s picture book. From his pancakes worthy of a president and his penchant for discovering new species of dinosaurs to his mega-cache of toys (so many “that Santa comes to buy toys from ME!”) and his kudos for a brave dad who can send a T. rex running, Bobby lives large. Is Bobby really fantasizing? Or is this his real life? Only on the back cover does the author explain, and at some length, that Bobby is out of sorts because he must share his parents’ attention with his little brother. So, “instead of becoming a big blob of jealousy,” the author writes, Bobby changes the narrative and plans to “supersize everything” about his life. The concept is a good and possibly universal one for kids with siblings. But without the stage being set to begin with, children have no reason not to take Bobby’s narrative literally. Adults may glean that Bobby exaggerates about his little brother’s sleeping and eating habits and why Mom seems to be a focus for Bobby’s resentment, but kids probably won’t. The author may not have intended this negative treatment of poor Mom to be so jarring. (Her cooking is “yucky”; she does nothing all day but watch TV and “wait for Daddy to come home.”) Because the book’s context is clarified only in the author’s note, this “bad Mommy” element is unpleasant and stereotypical. The uncredited full-color illustrations, bland and awkwardly executed with text and cartoon-style dialogue balloons, are a missed opportunity.
Confusing motivation and lifeless illustrations sink this story about a little boy’s big “lies.”Pub Date: April 22, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4808-2725-7
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Archway Publishing
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
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