An often wondrous story about a young nature lover that ends too abruptly.
Griffin presents an illustrated children’s book about connecting with nature.
As the story opens, a curious, unnamed little girl wonders, “Why do birds sing in the morning and not at night?” and “How do fish teach their babies to swim?” Her mother and father attempt to answer, but as her queries continue, the adults distract the girl with twirling and tickles until she’s out of breath. One day, the girl happens upon an old man with “millions of wrinkles and very wise eyes” sitting on her favorite park bench. The girl asks him a slew of questions, as well, and he can’t answer all of them; instead, he tells her she must “learn how to ask the wide world.” The youngster tries asking the sky and a tree; when she receives no responses, she decides to rely on her senses to find answers. She watches how the wind moves the clouds, feels tree bark and realizes it’s for the tree’s protection, walks barefoot in the grass, and listens to the birds. As years pass, the girl grows up and becomes a mother, and then a great-grandmother. While sitting on her favorite bench one day, a boy approaches her with many questions of his own; she smiles and tells him to ask the wide world. Griffin effectively depicts the protagonist’s awe of nature, while Echavez’s full-color illustrations convey the main character’s wide range of emotions and add bold color and texture to the outdoor scenery. (The girl and her parents are portrayed with brown skin; other characters are shown with a range of skin tones.) The author’s similes are evocative, as when describing the girl’s inquisitiveness: “It was almost as if someone had turned on a faucet and forgotten to turn it off until the questions overflowed like water in a tub.” Griffin also aptly conveys physical sensations throughout. However, the time-skips and the protagonist’s rapid aging make the conclusion feel rushed. The absence of names may also make it difficult for kids to connect with the various characters.
An often wondrous story about a young nature lover that ends too abruptly.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781637557457
Page Count: 38
Publisher: Mascot Kids
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A real gem.
A 10-year old girl learns to adjust to a strange town, makes some fascinating friends, and fills the empty space in her heart thanks to a big old stray dog in this lyrical, moving, and enchanting book by a fresh new voice.
India Opal’s mama left when she was only three, and her father, “the preacher,” is absorbed in his own loss and in the work of his new ministry at the Open-Arms Baptist Church of Naomi [Florida]. Enter Winn-Dixie, a dog who “looked like a big piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain.” But, this dog had a grin “so big that it made him sneeze.” And, as Opal says, “It’s hard not to immediately fall in love with a dog who has a good sense of humor.” Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal meets Miss Franny Block, an elderly lady whose papa built her a library of her own when she was just a little girl and she’s been the librarian ever since. Then, there’s nearly blind Gloria Dump, who hangs the empty bottle wreckage of her past from the mistake tree in her back yard. And, Otis, oh yes, Otis, whose music charms the gerbils, rabbits, snakes and lizards he’s let out of their cages in the pet store. Brush strokes of magical realism elevate this beyond a simple story of friendship to a well-crafted tale of community and fellowship, of sweetness, sorrow and hope. And, it’s funny, too.
A real gem. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0776-2
Page Count: 182
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000
SEEN & HEARD
Entrancing and uplifting.
A small dog, the elderly woman who owns him, and a homeless girl come together to create a tale of serendipity.
Piper, almost 12, her parents, and her younger brother are at the bottom of a long slide toward homelessness. Finally in a family shelter, Piper finds that her newfound safety gives her the opportunity to reach out to someone who needs help even more. Jewel, mentally ill, lives in the park with her dog, Baby. Unwilling to leave her pet, and forbidden to enter the shelter with him, she struggles with the winter weather. Ree, also homeless and with a large dog, helps when she can, but after Jewel gets sick and is hospitalized, Baby’s taken to the animal shelter, and Ree can’t manage the complex issues alone. It’s Piper, using her best investigative skills, who figures out Jewel’s backstory. Still, she needs all the help of the shelter Firefly Girls troop that she joins to achieve her accomplishment: to raise enough money to provide Jewel and Baby with a secure, hopeful future and, maybe, with their kindness, to inspire a happier story for Ree. Told in the authentic alternating voices of loving child and loyal dog, this tale could easily slump into a syrupy melodrama, but Pyron lets her well-drawn characters earn their believable happy ending, step by challenging step, by reaching out and working together. Piper, her family, and Jewel present white; Pyron uses hair and naming convention, respectively, to cue Ree as black and Piper’s friend Gabriela as Latinx.
Entrancing and uplifting. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-283922-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2019
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
