A sensitively told story of an all-too-common occurrence.
A family is displaced by a forest fire.
A young child moves far from the city to a house in the woods. It takes time for the child to acclimate to such a home, and when mom leads a hiking trip, the child declares: “I don’t like this place!” A bright orange fox is seen nearby, watching everything unfold. In leisurely paced, brightly lit, earth-toned spreads, readers see the child learning to love the new home and witness the adventures that can be had in the forest. Fox and child become accustomed to each other. A forest fire changes everything: Fiery reds and darker shadows take over, and the family must pack what they can and flee. The subsequent wordless spread depicts animals fleeing as well, the fox in the lead. When the child and mother return, much later, their home is gone, and they begin to rebuild. The fox is seen in its den, snuggled in a blanket evidently salvaged from the wreckage. While there may be no mercy for the family’s home, the child narrator emphasizes that “our house is gone, but we are safe.” A closing note reveals the author was once a firefighter and explains that “naturally occurring” forest fires can benefit a forest—yet also emphasizes the danger of human-caused ones and the need to protect our environment. All characters are White with the exception of one Black firefighter, presenting as female. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A sensitively told story of an all-too-common occurrence. (Picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-79720-282-2
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
No history lessons here but plenty of affection, creativity, and raucous older ladies to make readers smile.
That intrepid, polka-dot-kerchief–wearing engineer, Rosie Revere, stars in this inaugural installment of a chapter-book series based on Beaty and Roberts’ popular picture books.
Emergency! The Blue River Riveters need Rosie’s help. A sister Riveter has broken both wrists in a motor-scooter mishap and needs mechanical assistance to participate in the upcoming Art-a-Go-Go contest. The Riveters, a tightknit family by choice brought together building B-29s during World War II, convince Rosie to do her part. Undaunted by the two-day deadline, Rosie draws on her own knowledge and experience to get the job done, and her pals, scientist Ada Twist and architect Iggy Peck, lend a hand as Rosie tries and tries again until she gets it right with the Paintapalooza 9. But when the artist’s arms grow tired in the middle of the contest, Rosie turns to an unexpected ally to get her back to work. The story has significant visual elements: Onomatopoeia and liberal capitalization make the text pop, and the grid-patterned art and design elements familiar from the picture books inspire a science-notebook feel. There’s a fair amount of diversity, either acknowledged in the text or portrayed in the black-and-white illustrations: Rosie and Iggy are white, and Ada is black, while among the Riveters, wheelchair-driving Eleanor, aka the Boss, is Asian, Ada’s great-aunt Bernice is black, and the remainder of the Riveters appear to be diverse in the artwork. Backmatter includes further information on valves and on the history of Rosie the Riveter.
No history lessons here but plenty of affection, creativity, and raucous older ladies to make readers smile. (Fiction. 5-9)Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3360-4
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: July 31, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An appealing invitation to consider the nuances in there being “no place like home.”
Tate would love to have a wild animal in the house…but for some reason, they’re not interested in moving in.
Determined to “rescue” the creatures she loves, Tate—a small, brown-skinned child with big, soulful eyes—writes letters to a variety of animals, declaring, “I want to save you from the wild!” Discouragingly, the lion responds to her offer of a safe home, a bath, and free meals with a “Proud Pass,” while the orca turns up its nose at the idea of living in Tate’s kiddie pool (“Sometimes I swim forty miles a day”). The grizzly bear emphasizes that it needs a den far bigger than Tate could provide (“I’ll be 800 pounds in no time”). Though some readers may question whether the trash-picking raccoons depicted in the story are really living in the wild, the author’s point about forcing wildlife into unnatural habitats is well taken, as is her closing suggestion that supporting animal conservation and rescue organizations is a better way to go. As for Tate, readers will be happy to see her connect at last with the stray dog that’s been shadowing her from the beginning and quickly becomes the perfect recipient for the promised home, bath, and meals.
An appealing invitation to consider the nuances in there being “no place like home.” (ways to help animals, websites for animal rescue organizations, author’s note) (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: June 18, 2024
ISBN: 9780593569078
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
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