Witty and provocative, the tale provides food for thought in behavior management and governance as well as a great story.
This German import recounts the intriguing legend surrounding Frederick the Great’s potato legislation.
In the versatile vegetable recently transported from South America, Fritz (as he is familiarly called here) sees a weapon to prevent famine in Prussia. He decrees that everyone should plant this crop; his citizens are not convinced. Niemann’s decision to utilize potato prints and photographs of the tuber against a clean white background makes this account a beautifully unified narrative accessible to a range of ages. The thoughtful design extends to the palette of both image and type—the king’s words and silhouette are both rendered in red, for instance. Controlled pacing builds suspense. A wordless, crowded spread of textured, blue soldiers and cannons contrasts with the previously spare compositions during which listeners learn, “He ordered his solders to march to the village….” To do what? Force-feed villagers? Imprison abstainers? No, rather, this clever king tries reverse psychology: “…and guard the potato field.” Since the forbidden is irresistible, naturally the people creep in at night to steal the royal plants for their own fields. This understated, visually delightful tale of how a humble vegetable found its way into the hearts and kitchens of a community will surely entertain young readers and move them to printmaking.
Witty and provocative, the tale provides food for thought in behavior management and governance as well as a great story. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-77147-139-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
A sweet sentiment and a great way to get kids pumped about school and learning—Miss Frizzle would be proud.
North and Hall pair up for another imaginative what-if offering (Because I Am Your Daddy, 2010, etc.), this time introducing young readers to different modes of transportation.
A tiny (four-student) multicultural class armchair-journeys with their teacher: “If we had a chopper, we would soar above the cone / of a rumbling volcano as it churns out liquid stone.” Camels would allow the students to see the Egyptian pyramids, and an airboat would be the perfect way to see the Everglades. But this class isn’t afraid to use their own muscles—cross-country skiing in Antarctica, hang gliding in the Outback and kayaking the Grand Canyon. Among others, the adventures include hot air ballooning over China’s Great Wall, seeing Venice by gondola and blasting off in a rocket ship into space. North sticks to the format of the two previous titles, missing the rhythm and rhyme in only a few spots. But she neglects the perfect opportunity to plug reading as the way to see the world, instead ending with, “Our classroom is our vessel, / always headed someplace new. // Because you are our teacher, / We’ll see the world with you.” Hall’s watercolors capture the essential elements of each destination, colors, textures and movement matching the natural world, and a comical mouse that appears in each illustration gives readers something to search for.
A sweet sentiment and a great way to get kids pumped about school and learning—Miss Frizzle would be proud. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4197-0385-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: June 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This provides both a fairly high cute factor and hard evidence that big brothers tend to be the same everywhere.
A big brother allows the baby sitter to misunderstand his little sister in this Scottish import.
Small Jessie is just learning words, and when she says “please” it sounds just like PEAS. Mum and Dad are off to a ceilidh (Dad's in his kilt and Mum's in her dancing boots), and they tell Rachel, the baby sitter, to give Jessie anything she asks for, as she is just getting over a cold. So when she asks for “Orange juice peas” Rachel gamely finds some leftover cooked peas in the fridge and drops a few in the juice. Jessie is not pleased, and she asks for a “Boon peas!” Ben translates “spoon” but not the other, so Jessie gets a spoon with peas, which she uses to get the peas out of her juice. Alas, though, now the orange juice tastes of peas. “Yack!” says Jessie. This continues. While Ben tries to hold in his giggles, Jessie grows ever more frustrated, and Rachel gets increasingly mystified. There are peas all over the place. Finally, Ben explains that Jessie means “please,” not that she wants peas with everything. The cheerful and individualized characters, bright surroundings and patterned fabric-collage effects make for winning pages, and the use of British/Scots terms are easily understood in context.
This provides both a fairly high cute factor and hard evidence that big brothers tend to be the same everywhere. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-86315-872-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Floris
Review Posted Online: May 29, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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