Trippy and touching.
This French import about a child’s nighttime coping mechanisms asks, why grow up too fast?
Young Nasla has decided she is old enough to sleep without her favorite plush animals and toys. But at night, she sees a yellow dot in the darkness and a shadow above the wardrobe, where her father put her toys. Could that dot be her toy turtle? And when the shadow moves, she discovers it’s Timboubou, her toy elephant, who appears as a flesh-and-blood elephant in Nasla’s nocturnal visions. Nasla repeatedly tries to talk herself into an independence that the illustrations make clear she is not ready to accept. She may remind herself that she’s a “big girl now” and that night is for sleeping (not playing), but she admits that she wants to dance with the Moon, who appears in three forms (yellow, red, and silver) on human legs, and she dreams of her old toys. The delightfully bizarre, dreamlike illustrations of the girl’s fantastical night visions possess a simple elegance. And there’s a poignancy to Nasla’s decision, after she imagines ominous, long-armed ghosts and giant squids and hears “breathing in the dark,” to cling to a small blanket her mother gave her when she was a baby (her “secret charm”)—to keep herself safe from the yellow eyes (their source is revealed as feline at the book’s close) and the eccentric and surreal creatures she sees in her mind’s eye. Nasla has pale skin and bright red hair.
Trippy and touching. (Picture book. 4-10)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-61689-950-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
A charming friendship story and great setup for future books.
Curious about the Big Wide World outside his Sasquatch community, Hugo makes a friend who is of it.
Sasquatch Hugo’s bedroom is inside a cave and possesses the charming feature of a small stream running through it that he can sail his little toy boat on. It’s cool, but he yearns to see the Big Wide World. When he asks his smart friend Gigi if a Sasquatch might become a sailor, she says it’s possible but would be difficult—the primary rule of their people is to not be seen by Humans. Then, in everyone’s favorite Hide and Go Sneak class, which is held outside, a Human appears; Hugo laughs at the sight, drawing Human attention in a taboo-breaking mistake. Shortly after, Hugo’s toy boat floats into the cave with a Human toy—soon, it’s facilitating a pen-pal–type relationship that’s derailed when Hugo confesses to being a Sasquatch and Human Boone, a budding cryptozoologist, doesn’t believe him. How Hugo and Boone resolve this misapprehension and become friends in a joint search for the Ogopogo concludes this series opener. Potter keeps the third-person narrative tightly focused on Hugo’s perspective, and the details she uses to flesh out the Sasquatch world are delightfully playful. Sala’s drawings depict a homey Sasquatch cavern community, Boone as a freckled, white boy, and Hugo as a hairily benevolent behemoth.
A charming friendship story and great setup for future books. (final art unseen) (Fantasy. 5-9)Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2859-4
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
Spires’ understanding of the fragility and power of the artistic impulse mixes with expert pacing and subtle...
Making things is difficult work. Readers will recognize the stages of this young heroine’s experience as she struggles to realize her vision.
First comes anticipation. The artist/engineer is spotted jauntily pulling a wagonload of junkyard treasures. Accompanied by her trusty canine companion, she begins drawing plans and building an assemblage. The narration has a breezy tone: “[S]he makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!” The colorful caricatures and creations contrast with the digital black outlines on a white background that depict an urban neighborhood. Intermittent blue-gray panels break up the white expanses on selected pages showing sequential actions. When the first piece doesn’t turn out as desired, the protagonist tries again, hoping to achieve magnificence. A model of persistence, she tries many adjustments; the vocabulary alone offers constructive behaviors: she “tinkers,” “wrenches,” “fiddles,” “examines,” “stares” and “tweaks.” Such hard work, however, combines with disappointing results, eventually leading to frustration, anger and injury. Explosive emotions are followed by defeat, portrayed with a small font and scaled-down figures. When the dog, whose expressions have humorously mirrored his owner’s through each phase, retrieves his leash, the resulting stroll serves them well. A fresh perspective brings renewed enthusiasm and—spoiler alert—a most magnificent scooter sidecar for a loyal assistant.
Spires’ understanding of the fragility and power of the artistic impulse mixes with expert pacing and subtle characterization for maximum delight. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-55453-704-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2014
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