A love letter to Italy at its best and a snazzy charmer of a book through and through.
Get ready to embark on an enchanting trip through Bella Città (Beautiful City).
The splendors of Italy are on full display as dapper shrew Piccolo decides to enjoy a day dedicated to visiting his favorite places. An initial trip to Miss Dolce’s Gelateria is interrupted, however, when he hears cries for help from his vulpine pal, Mr. Rosso. The fox needs to move his painting to the museum, and since the institution is on Piccolo’s list of places to visit, he’s more than happy to assist. What follows is a series of sequences in which Piccolo aids friends and neighbors, visiting a fountain, the ancient ruins, a theater, and a garden along the way. A more fervent picture-book tribute to Italy may not exist. Yaccarino’s bold artwork makes excellent use of texture and shading; small joys abound, too, as in the clever references to famous artworks found in the book’s art museum (note The Vitruvian Man depicted as an octopus). Italian words appear throughout; translations are included at the book’s end, though some might take issue with gelato being equated with ice cream, as the two are made differently. Even so, this paean to Italian lands, culture, and food is a perfect read for anyone planning a trip there or for those who simply wish to read their children a tale soaked in the sights and sounds of the country.
A love letter to Italy at its best and a snazzy charmer of a book through and through. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9780316574563
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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