A lovely father-daughter idyll.
While checking on their new foal, Zoe and her father discover a fawn curled up in a thicket without its mother.
As the two set out to find the doe, Zoe spies many woodland animals and asks her father if each one—a flicker, a rabbit, a rainbow trout—is the fawn’s mother. Dad patiently tells Zoe that none are, and they keep walking. From time to time Dad takes a picture of some of the animals seen with his camera. As they go along, readers learn many new syilx (Okanagan) animal words, each printed in a rust-red type that matches Zoe’s boots and followed by the English word in parentheses. After circling back to check on their new foal and its mother, Zoe and Dad are greeted with a pleasant surprise. Jameson (Secwepémc-syilx) has crafted a quiet tale of father-daughter togetherness using simple vocabulary, a good use of repetition, and a gentle storytelling tone. Flett’s (Cree-Métis) earth-toned illustrations neatly complement the author’s style of writing, her mixed media rendering young Zoe and her father with black hair and brown skin and the animals they see with naturalistic verve; stylized greenery establishes the natural setting. It will be clear to readers unfamiliar with syilx that the language is a complex one; they will, perhaps, be spurred to find audio pronunciations on the internet after sharing the book with a loved one.
A lovely father-daughter idyll. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-926886-53-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Theytus Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
Parent-child love and affection, appealingly presented, with the added attraction of the seasonal content and lack of gender...
A polar-bear parent speaks poetically of love for a child.
A genderless adult and cub travel through the landscapes of an arctic year. Each of the softly rendered double-page paintings has a very different feel and color palette as the pair go through the seasons, walking through wintry ice and snow and green summer meadows, cavorting in the blue ocean, watching whales, and playing beside musk oxen. The rhymes of the four-line stanzas are not forced, as is the case too often in picture books of this type: “When cold, winter winds / blow the leaves far and wide, / You’ll cross the great icebergs / with me by your side.” On a dark, snowy night, the loving parent says: “But for now, cuddle close / while the stars softly shine. // I’ll always be yours, / and you’ll always be mine.” As the last illustration shows the pair curled up for sleep, young listeners will be lulled to sweet dreams by the calm tenor of the pictures and the words. While far from original, this timeless theme is always in demand, and the combination of delightful illustrations and poetry that scans well make this a good choice for early-childhood classrooms, public libraries, and one-on-one home read-alouds.
Parent-child love and affection, appealingly presented, with the added attraction of the seasonal content and lack of gender restrictions. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68010-070-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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