illustrated by Daniel Schwartz & by Betsy Byars ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 27, 1972
From the beginning Sammy's first day with his Ohio grandfather is experienced not as a more or less skillfully constructed fiction but as a vibrant reality that happens as we read. The eighth and last child of tired parents, the ten-year-old is left abruptly in the wild-looking old man's run-down house full of uncaged birds (an owl, a parrot, several geese) while his parents go on to find a job and get settled in Detroit. Though the boy's first outraged reaction is to run away, his grandfather immediately involves him in capturing and then caring for a hurt crane they encounter in a clearing. The old man bluntly accepts the boy from the start and as bluntly demands his help in projects Sammy would otherwise not dare to attempt — all the while following his own train of thought, ignoring Sammy's self-conscious conversation, and hearing only those questions he wishes to answer. Though he "can't even get some of my own children straight in my mind," he tells Sammy that "every one of them birds that stayed with me is more real to me than the people I've known." After the two have shared a can of cold spaghetti for supper, the dismaying discovery that the crane is blind, and joyful relief when the bird eats and revives, Sammy has decided that he wants his grand-father to know him the way he knows his birds. By the end we too have come to know the touchingly but unsentimentally rendered Sammy and the marvelous old man.
Pub Date: April 27, 1972
ISBN: 0140315233
Page Count: 148
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1972
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by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021
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
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by Rose Rossner ; illustrated by Jessica Gibson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 2, 2021
<p>Perfectly fine but nothing new.</p>
Caregiver-child love abounds in this rhyming board book full of animal puns.
One thing’s for certain, there’s plenty of sweet (and groanworthy) sentiments in this book. Rossner writes, “Giving HOGS and kisses / sends me to the moon!” and, “I’m such a lucky DUCK. / You really QUACK me up!” The book progresses entirely in this fashion, with a new animal pair and pun with each page turn. It reads well as a book for a caregiver to share with a lap-sitting child. On that mark, it succeeds in providing plenty of opportunities for giggles and snuggles. That said, at times the meter is forced, making the cadence a bit stilted, and the cuddles/bubbles rhyme is a dubious one. This is an issue for a book that will almost solely be read aloud. Gibson’s illustrations are very charming; the animals and insects with big eyes and expressive faces have high appeal. The warmth of the animals’ embraces and cuddles translates well from the page, inviting the same snuggles from readers. Decorated eggs appear on each page, and the bunny pair from the cover features prominently. Overall, the concept and message of the book are high interest and age-appropriate, but it doesn’t stand out from the very crowded shelf of “I love you, little one!” books similar to it.
<p>Perfectly fine but nothing new.</p> (Board book. 6 mos.-2)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2343-8
Page Count: 25
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
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