THE DARKEST DARK

Name: THE DARKEST DARK
Author: Chris Hadfield
ISBN: 978-0-316-39472-7

by Chris Hadfield & Kate Fillion ; illustrated by Eric Fan & Terry Fan ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 20, 2016

An uplifting, valuable addition to the “scared of the dark” bookshelf and a must for the budding space explorer (or really,...

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Young Chris is afraid of the dark until he sees the Eagle land on the moon and is moved by the beauty of space.

By day, little Chris flies his cardboard rocket on important missions, fighting imaginary ETs and heading to Mars. But by night, the blond, white boy is struggling to sleep on his own, repeatedly waking his parents. Then on July 20, 1969, he witnesses Neil Armstrong’s historic moon walk and realizes that while nothing in his dark room has changed, he has changed. Chris now wants “to explore every corner of the night sky.” Text and illustrations crescendo as the boy—whose bed is floating among fantastical imaginings in space—realizes that in the dark he is never alone, because he has dreams of possibility. The graphite illustrations, digitally colored in a cool palette, glow with a soft, luxurious sense of light. Full of rich texture and value, with captivating compositions and hidden hints, the artwork is stunning; however, the generic stylization of the main character’s face is disappointing given the amount of photographic referencing and meticulous detailing surrounding it. The book includes moving backmatter on astronaut and co-author Hadfield’s life, including photographs and illustrated mementos, and an inspiring message from Hadfield about the wonders of the night sky.

An uplifting, valuable addition to the “scared of the dark” bookshelf and a must for the budding space explorer (or really, any dreamer). (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-316-39472-7

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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THE WATER PRINCESS

by Susan Verde ; illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2016

Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of...

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An international story tackles a serious global issue with Reynolds’ characteristic visual whimsy.

Gie Gie—aka Princess Gie Gie—lives with her parents in Burkina Faso. In her kingdom under “the African sky, so wild and so close,” she can tame wild dogs with her song and make grass sway, but despite grand attempts, she can neither bring the water closer to home nor make it clean. French words such as “maintenant!” (now!) and “maman” (mother) and local color like the karite tree and shea nuts place the story in a French-speaking African country. Every morning, Gie Gie and her mother perch rings of cloth and large clay pots on their heads and walk miles to the nearest well to fetch murky, brown water. The story is inspired by model Georgie Badiel, who founded the Georgie Badiel Foundation to make clean water accessible to West Africans. The details in Reynolds’ expressive illustrations highlight the beauty of the West African landscape and of Princess Gie Gie, with her cornrowed and beaded hair, but will also help readers understand that everyone needs clean water—from the children of Burkina Faso to the children of Flint, Michigan.

Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of potable water. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-399-17258-8

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
ARE YOU LISTENING?
by Susan Verde ; illustrated by Juliana Perdomo

- BOOK REVIEW
WHO I AM
by Susan Verde ; illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

- BOOK REVIEW
CAN YOU SEE IT?
by Susan Verde ; illustrated by Juliana Perdomo

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)