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KNOCK KNOCK

Name: KNOCK KNOCK
Author: Daniel Beaty
ISBN: 978-0-316-20917-5

MY DAD'S DREAM FOR ME

by Daniel Beaty ; illustrated by Bryan Collier ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 17, 2013

A valiant effort that falls short of its source’s fearless honesty and passion.

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A heartfelt effort to transform Beaty’s celebrated monologue into a picture book undermines the source material’s power, despite the contributions of Collier’s stunning collage-and-watercolor artwork.

A father and son play “KNOCK KNOCK” every morning, Papa knocking on the door to awaken him and the boy jumping into his arms. Both picture book and monologue open with this recollection and then reflect on the boy’s profound loss when his beloved father is suddenly gone; but while the latter text explains that this is due to the father’s incarceration, in picture-book form, his absence is unexplained until an author’s note in the backmatter. Not only is this potentially confusing and alarming, it also robs the text of one of its most powerful elements: when the boy visits his father in prison and must “KNOCK KNOCK” on the glass between them. In the monologue, Beaty says that he had to learn to father himself and give himself the words his father didn’t give to him. In this adaptation, the boy’s mysteriously absent father writes a loving letter filled with fatherly advice, but it omits the monologue’s lines about fighting poverty and racism and not allowing a father’s choices to define the child. Absent the critical back story, this picture book feels incomplete.

A valiant effort that falls short of its source’s fearless honesty and passion. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013

ISBN: 978-0-316-20917-5

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Oct. 19, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2013

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- PERSPECTIVES
Bibliotherapy for All

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THE MOST MAGNIFICENT THING

by Ashley Spires ; illustrated by Ashley Spires ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2014

Spires’ understanding of the fragility and power of the artistic impulse mixes with expert pacing and subtle...

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Making things is difficult work. Readers will recognize the stages of this young heroine’s experience as she struggles to realize her vision.

First comes anticipation. The artist/engineer is spotted jauntily pulling a wagonload of junkyard treasures. Accompanied by her trusty canine companion, she begins drawing plans and building an assemblage. The narration has a breezy tone: “[S]he makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!” The colorful caricatures and creations contrast with the digital black outlines on a white background that depict an urban neighborhood. Intermittent blue-gray panels break up the white expanses on selected pages showing sequential actions. When the first piece doesn’t turn out as desired, the protagonist tries again, hoping to achieve magnificence. A model of persistence, she tries many adjustments; the vocabulary alone offers constructive behaviors: she “tinkers,” “wrenches,” “fiddles,” “examines,” “stares” and “tweaks.” Such hard work, however, combines with disappointing results, eventually leading to frustration, anger and injury. Explosive emotions are followed by defeat, portrayed with a small font and scaled-down figures. When the dog, whose expressions have humorously mirrored his owner’s through each phase, retrieves his leash, the resulting stroll serves them well. A fresh perspective brings renewed enthusiasm and—spoiler alert—a most magnificent scooter sidecar for a loyal assistant.

Spires’ understanding of the fragility and power of the artistic impulse mixes with expert pacing and subtle characterization for maximum delight. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: April 1, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-55453-704-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Kids Can

Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
BYE BYE, BUTTERFLY
developed by Ashley Spires ; adapted by Naseem Hrab ; illustrated by Mike Shiell

- BOOK REVIEW
NO MOUSIE LEFT BEHIND
developed by Ashley Spires ; adapted by Naseem Hrab ; illustrated by Mike Shiell

- BOOK REVIEW
THE MOST MAGNIFICENT MAKER'S A TO Z
by Ashley Spires ; illustrated by Ashley Spires

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)