A simple, whimsically illustrated story about finding one’s purpose.
A boy seeks his dream in Dahlia’s illustrated children’s book.
In a village named Sparkling lives a little boy named Neem. He was born in this magical place, which is illuminated by dreams themselves rather than sunlight. Neem and his three goose friends spend their days in the beautiful woods near Sparkling, but the fowl all have something that Neem doesn’t—they’ve found their dreams. It seems like everyone else has found their small guiding light that accompanies them everywhere, making house windows glow invitingly at night. Neem decides to set off to find his dream and encounters a girl named Pla, whose dream is to help plants grow everywhere. Neem meets other friends like Vicky (who tends fish), an old woman who cleans the end of the rainbow, and an apothecary for sick and ailing animals. They all have lovely dreams, but none of them are for Neem. Neem walks until he comes across a hot air balloon and climbs aboard to meet an elderly man, learning how the man oversees turning the sky from day to night and back again. The man explains to Neem that while dreams can be simple or sometimes even monotonous, they fit into the larger cycle of the universe in which each individual person is necessary and unique. (“Once you see the value in what you do, there’s nothing to complain about.”) Neem returns home to process this journey and figure out what his dream inspiration will finally be. The book includes an illustrated map of Neem’s Dreamland and several activities about dream cultivation. These are intriguing resources, but they lack the structure to make them easily actionable and they don’t quite feel meaningfully related to the story. The author takes care to introduce Neem to multiple characters, but there is little internal character development until the end of the story. Ran’s illustrations are tenderly drawn and help to immerse the reader in this fantasy tale.
A simple, whimsically illustrated story about finding one’s purpose.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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