A lively introduction to distant places with some deeply unfortunate visuals.
Silhouette artist Rice offers another imaginative tale using his intricate cut-paper designs.
The creator of Mama, Let’s Make a Moon (2013) invites children to “dance like there are ants in your pants” in a rollicking tall tale. The narrator, a barefoot child with braided pigtails that sometimes stand on end in surprise, uses rhythm and rhyme to tell the story of an uncle who discovers a talent for dancing after stepping in a bed of ants. Playful language sets the scene: “Ants ’n’ uncles, uncles ’n’ ants / dancin’ the world with ants in his pants. / Goin’ where he’s / never been before on / his un-ant-ticipated / world tour.” The lively, poster-style illustrations accompany the uncle as he limbos, pirouettes, moonwalks, and tangos to fame through the world’s big cities, sending home postcards as he goes. Vivid colors pop off the pages as Uncle Bob goes from dancing in a spotlight to balancing atop the Eiffel Tower, with dancing ants alongside him. Unfortunately, Rice depicts Uncle Bob with exaggeratedly large, bare feet throughout, and several of the silhouettes also give him pendulous lips. The nature of the media means they are not detailed enough to keep readers from associating many of these images with minstrelsy.
A lively introduction to distant places with some deeply unfortunate visuals. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-942934-68-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Familius
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
This flock rocks.
The further adventures of Elvis Poultry, rooster rock star (Chicken Dance, 2009).
Marge and Lola, Elvis Poultry’s backup Chicken Dancers, wave goodbye to their barnyard buddies from a window of their tour bus. McDoodle's Barnyard is the first stop on their glamorous multi-farm tour. But the crowd is so big and unfamiliar that the hens faint from nerves. They resolve to do better at their next performance venue, but… Elvis parachutes to the stage, making a spectacular soft landing, followed by the thud of Lola and Marge. What to do? They try painting, hypnosis, meditation... but nothing seems to work. Then it hits them: In order to solve their problem, they actually cross the road (to a mailbox)! At the next tour stop, Dale's Dairy Farm, the crowd looks disgruntled. "We're going to get mooed off the stage," Marge predicts. But their entrance is greeted with cheers; all their friends from back on the farm have come out to support them. Elvis is so inspired that he comes up with a brand new song on the spot. His recording of "Blue Moo" shoots to the top of the charts. Can you say superstars? Sauer dispenses her many puns with an appealingly deft touch, offering a genuine lesson on friendship. Santat's illustrations are similarly droll, featuring several clever and surprising page designs, making the most of the opportunity offered by the contrast between stage and audience.
This flock rocks. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4027-7837-7
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2012
Not likely to be a life-changing inspiration to any, save diehard Michael Jordan fans.
Michael Jordan's mother returns for another story about her famous son's childhood.
Michael Jordan’s childhood dreams were always of playing basketball. His friends, brothers and mother are full of upbeat advice, encouraging him to work hard and keep practicing. After watching the U.S. Olympic team battle Russia, young Michael announces to his mother that he will be an Olympic basketball champion. More pat advice about dreamers and doers follows. But Michael puts his plan into action by asking his coach what he could do now to get closer to that dream. And in an ending that echoes Salt in His Shoes (cowritten with Roslyn Jordan and illustrated by Kadir Nelson, 2000), he goes to his older brother’s scrimmage and makes a three-pointer right over the heads of his opponents. An afterword sums up Michael’s journey to the Olympic Games—the culmination of lots of little steps undertaken day after day. While Michael’s story is an inspiring one, Jordan’s retelling may leave readers feeling less uplifted than bashed over the head. She tells rather than shows, and her emphasis on schoolwork, while worthy, is repeated a bit too often for either readers’ comfort or the flow of the story. Root’s watercolor-and-gouache illustrations convey to readers just how much Michael lives and breathes basketball.
Not likely to be a life-changing inspiration to any, save diehard Michael Jordan fans. (Picture book/biography. 4-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-1269-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2012
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