Infectious, joyous and zany are a few words that come to mind to describe Zanes and his music. His latest offering is no different. Inspired by both his concert experience and by a friend’s tale of a Trinidadian dance party, there’s no doubt that the title track will have listeners jumping up to dance: “Jump up, day is breaking / jump up, let’s get shaking / I know you’re lying down / jump up and we’ll dance around.” Saaf’s illustrations celebrate music and the joy it brings to life. He perfectly embodies the lyrics. Readers follow a young girl as she wakes up excited at the prospect of a “Concert today.” She rounds up the neighborhood people and anthropomorphized objects and animals, many with instruments of their own, and they play, laugh and sing their way to the stage. Each right-hand page unfolds in the center to show the action—the stage curtain opens onto the concert. In the back, each of the five tracks on the accompanying CD has its own page with music, lyrics and a bit of the history of the song. There is little need for the cardboard sleeve pasted to the inside cover; the CD will not reside there long. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-316-16796-7
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Megan Tingley/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2005
Categories: CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS
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A snappy rhyming text celebrates an extended family’s joyous gyrations to the jazz spinning on the turntable. From waking to sleep, Baby’s right in the thick of it, as siblings, grandparents and cousins move and groove: “So they BOOM-BOOM-BOOM / and they HIP-HIP-HOP / and the bouncin’ baby boogies with a BOP-BOP-BOP.” Wheeler’s verse scans beautifully and begs to be read aloud—danced to, even—making this a fine choice for preschool and kindergarten story times. Christie’s bold, double-paged gouache compositions locate this colorfully garbed, expressively hip family within an equally vibrant community. As Baby’s big dark eyes get glassy with fatigue, the party winds down. “Daddy sings blues. / Mama sings sweet. / While that snoozy-woozy baby . . . / . . . sleeps deep, deep, deep.” Exultant and infectious, from the red-and-yellow-striped endpapers to the final “OH YEAH!” (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-15-202522-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2007
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Young Jabari decides today is the day he is going to jump from the diving board, even though it’s a little high and a little scary.
Jabari’s father and baby sister accompany him to the swimming pool in the city, where Jabari has already made up his mind about today’s goal: jumping off the diving board. “I’m a great jumper,” he says, “so I’m not scared at all.” But that’s not entirely true. Readers see Jabari play the waiting game as the other children (a diverse bunch) make their ways past him in line. Once Jabari finally begins to climb up, he slyly remembers that he forgot to “stretch.” The stalling techniques don’t faze his dad, who sees an opportunity for a life lesson. “It’s okay to feel a little scared,” offers his dad at the side of the pool. With renewed will, Jabari returns to the towering diving board, ready to embrace the feat. In her debut, Cornwall places her loving black family at the center, coloring the swimming pool and park beyond in minty hues and adding whimsy with digitally collaged newspaper for skyscrapers. A bird’s-eye view of Jabari’s toes clinging to the edge of the diving board as he looks way, way down at the blue pool below puts readers in his head and in the action.
This simple and sincere tale of working up courage to face fears makes quite a splash. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 9, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7838-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS
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