A lonely boy discovers a world of friendship on his apartment building’s roof. Jawanza is not allowed to play outside, so he spends his time looking out his window at the pigeons flying. He expresses his frustration by yelling at them, but an “old man with stick fingers” puts him in his place from the rooftop: “Can y’all believe that Mr. Joe-wanza, talking loud at you people because you’re flying? What are y’all supposed to be doing—swimming?” Jawanza investigates the rooftop to find that Mr. Roderick Jackson Montgomery the Three and his pigeons have a whole world unto themselves under the sky—a world and language that “Mr. Three” teaches Jawanza to appreciate. Myers (Wings, 2000, etc.) once again explores the ideas of friendship and flight as liberating metaphor. The watercolor illustrations employ a warm palette of yellows and oranges, with bright blue skies; the figures of Jawanza and Mr. Roderick Jackson Montgomery the Three are elongated and bend into elegant curves that mimic the swoops of the pigeons’ flight. Jawanza’s sadness at the beginning is palpable, as is his emerging joy as he learns the “pigeon dance.” The old man’s distinctive voice is pure delight: “The problem with you now, Mr. Joe-wanza, is that you’re too hurry-hurry to make the friends you’re going to have. You got to take time with these new friends.” The text as a whole, however, is overlong for a story with as little real action as this one; it bogs down from time to time in the details, and perhaps Mr. Roderick Jackson Montgomery the Three’s delightful voice runs a little out of control. It is, nevertheless, a beautiful exploration of urban friendship in unexpected places. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7868-0652-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2001
Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
SEEN & HEARD
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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