A moving tale with energetic artwork and an easily grasped message for both children and adults.
A children’s picture book with a powerful message about why God created the world.
In the beginning of this moving story, God makes the Earth and all the animals upon it. Looking for creatures as creative, loving and playful as he is, God creates people. Their inquisitive joy prompts the deity to play a game of his own. In a touching twist, God chooses to play hide-and-seek within the people themselves: “I’ll hide inside where they can feel me.…[T]hey will look for me on the outside, and I’ll be inside all of them the whole time!” Then he discovers that people don’t always feel playful and loving. In a philosophical quandary, he ponders whether he should make people always be happy, but ultimately decides that they should “be free to create like me so they can be my friends, not my dolls.” Accordingly, the final page asks: “Where is God???” Roess, in simple, clear language, presents readers with a laughing, happy God, a generous being who’s approachable and warm. Anticipating the universal question children ask about God, Roess begins with the easy explanation that God has no form or shape, but wields tremendous creative powers. The bright, pastel colors of the accompanying illustrations draw the eye; the images of creatures with large eyes will no doubt captivate even very tiny children. The words, meanwhile, offer more than just rhythmic power to soothe and comfort. By combining engaging pictures with concise, fluidly plotted prose, Roess has crafted a winning book, sure to delight a broad audience of children, parents and teachers of any religion.
A moving tale with energetic artwork and an easily grasped message for both children and adults.Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2014
ISBN: 978-0615913315
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Tiny Teachings
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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