A celebration of humankind’s connection to the natural world, as a child joyfully observes how a tree—and all the elements that allow it to flourish—lives on in people.
A brown-skinned child with short, curly black hair plucks an apple from a tree. As it’s eaten, the fruit’s rosy glow is reflected in the youth’s cheeks as the text reads, “The tree in me / is part apple.” And so the poetic text, with the tree refrain starting each stanza, continues. The wise child, with the help of a multiracial cast of friends, plays among glorious trees—climbing, swinging from, and reading on branches; jumping among leaves; and resting in their cool shade. With each spread, the link between the trees and the children strengthens. The soil, sun, and rain that nourish the trees are also parts of the child, as are the bee that pollinates, the squirrel that regenerates, and the worm that decomposes and enriches the ground. The cycles of the tree and of the larger natural world, including humans, are honored. Luyken captures the splendor of nature in her brushwork and patterns. Done in gouache, pencil, and ink, her simplified designs are layered with energy and skillfully composed. Warm pink and yellow hues create a soft radiance, cooled by the middle spreads of predominant blue patterns for rain and sky, which create endless delight for the children. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-14-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
A visual feast. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-11259-5
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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A diverse cast of children first makes a fleet of hot air balloons and then takes to the sky in them.
Lifestyle maven Gaines uses this activity as a platform to celebrate diversity in learning and working styles. Some people like to work together; others prefer a solo process. Some take pains to plan extensively; others know exactly what they want and jump right in. Some apply science; others demonstrate artistic prowess. But “see how beautiful it can be when / our differences share the same sky?” Double-page spreads leading up to this moment of liftoff are laid out such that rhyming abcb quatrains typically contain one or two opposing concepts: “Some of us are teachers / and share what we know. / But all of us are learners. / Together is how we grow!” In the accompanying illustration, a bespectacled, Asian-presenting child at a blackboard lectures the other children on “balloon safety.” Gaines’ text has the ring of sincerity, but the sentiment is hardly an original one, and her verse frequently sacrifices scansion for rhyme. Sometimes it abandons both: “We may not look / or work or think the same, / but we all have an / important part to play.” Swaney’s delicate, pastel-hued illustrations do little to expand on the text, but they are pretty. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11.2-by-18.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 70.7% of actual size.)
As insubstantial as hot air. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4003-1423-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tommy Nelson
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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