What could come across as saccharine is given weight and beauty by both art and heart.
A parable on the importance of imagination, told in stunning silhouettes.
A young boy sits alone under a tree, with no friends or toys. One day he finds a stick under the tree, and when he picks it up, he immediately becomes a pirate and the stick becomes his sword. He transforms into many different imaginative possibilities. The stick has words carved on it: “IMAGiNATION / lives in you. / It’s the FIRE / in all you do. / Use it well, and / you can be / ANYTHiNG / you want / to be.” As the boy grows up, he takes those words to heart. When he is finally an old man, he sits down at the park near the original tree he used to sit under so long ago. He notices a little girl, with no friends or toys. It is time for the stick to help someone else. An immediate comparison to The Giving Tree (1964) springs to mind as a result of the arboreal nature of both tales, but this one is not as divisive. Intricately cut scenes of black, with blazing backgrounds of oranges and purples, invite close inspection and awe. Careful readers might even spot the stick on the very first page.
What could come across as saccharine is given weight and beauty by both art and heart. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-939629-28-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Familius
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
A delectable bilingual experience.
Little Lobo is tasked with nourishing nine famished luchadores.
Following ¡Vamos! Let’s Go to the Market (2019), author/illustrator Raúl the Third and colorist Bay create a second installment in their bilingual series, ¡Vamos!, here following Little Lobo’s journey as he provides sustenance to hungry lucha libre stars. The cheerfully energetic anthropomorphic wolf reprises his role as a bike courier when he receives a message from El Toro and makes his way to el Coliseo, winding and weaving through busy streets. A mouthwatering experience follows as Little Lobo—accompanied by dog Bernabé and rooster pal Kooky Dooky—picks up tacos, diced fruit, freshly made tortillas, flan, and buñuelos from a gathering of food trucks. As in his other work, Raúl the Third imbues his pages with real-world and pop-culture references. An homage to Picasso’s Guernica, recognizable Ciudad Juárez–El Paso landmarks, a Chavo del Ocho inside a barrel, and even a Chapulín Colorado marionette all make the cut. Readers ignorant of these specifics will not feel left out: The busy pages filled with interesting characters and intriguing bilingual signage make readers wish they could jump into the pages and experience the bustling town. Bay’s comic book–style coloring and creative textures provide a deep cultural exposure to the lavish array of Mexican food throughout the spreads. After enjoying the story, readers will keep going back to savor all the minuscule details.
A delectable bilingual experience. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 24, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-328-55704-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Versify/HMH
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
Mildly amusing, but something of a one-trick pony.
In this tech-savvy parody of the contemporary classic If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, a hyperactive pet mouse named Applesauce goes off the deep end (literally) while mesmerized with his boy’s iPhone.
Like many a harried caregiver, the boy—who’s finalizing preparations for a special outing to the “wild animal amusement park” with Applesauce—gives the persistently pesky mouse his iPhone as a diversion. Big mistake! Applesauce’s glassy-eyed absorption with the device results in utter mayhem. Oblivious to the roller coaster, tempting junk food and exotic animals at the amusement park, the tap-tap-tapping mouse inadvertently frees the animals from their cages and walks off a cliff. Hitching a ride with some conveniently passing porpoises, he winds up on a “distant island.” The boy arrives to rescue Applesauce, and the pair camp overnight. With no outlets or charger for the dead phone, Applesauce undergoes brief but dramatic withdrawal symptoms, which end with a marshmallow roast. “Ann Droyd”—aka David Milgrim—adopts the original text’s conditional, “if / then” formula but doesn’t attempt its exquisitely circular structure. Cartoony illustrations employ flat blues, grays and greens contoured in black, with word bubbles for dialogue. As Applesauce and his boy stargaze, the mouse asks, “By the way, how’d we get here?”
Mildly amusing, but something of a one-trick pony. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-16926-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Blue Rider Press
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
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