A colorfully fun book that promotes team work, curiosity and the power of imagination.
A chipper, all-knowing bouncing ball brings friendship and comfort to a group of suburban kids in the Bradshaw’s debut children’s book.
Devon resigns himself to another dreary day in the suburbs as he stands despondently in his yard. Then, out of the blue, a magical talking ball, which he names Bouncy, bounces in to offer a cheerful lift to his day and a desire to play. Devon befriends the ball and they begin an earnest investigation into the world around them, with Bouncy offering fun facts that delight Devon. He introduces Bouncy to his friends, Kate and Josh, both equally isolated and bored on their own. With unashamedly enthusiastic energy, the three begin to explore topics that run the gamut from facts about the White House to the definition of a noun and the five senses. Thanks to the knowledgeable ball, the children learn the seeds of philosophical and practical discussions in a story rounded with a racially diverse cast, which adds to the book’s open and inclusive tone. The appealing full-page illustrations by Guiza—they run nearly parallel the story but couldn’t quite serve as a standalone narrative due to a few missing frames—portray children in a world curiously free of adults, the implication being that they lack, at least for the afternoon, any sort of guidance, love and positivity in an otherwise slightly drab existence. So Bouncy saves the day for the bored kids. Surreally, only children can hear him. The story unexpectedly raises questions about creationism when the kids and Bouncy seek to discover Bouncy’s “beginnings.” The answer to that question is much bigger than this short, simple but delightful book—although it’s unclear if that journey, perhaps in a sequel, would take the kids to bible school or the ball plant.
A colorfully fun book that promotes team work, curiosity and the power of imagination.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2012
ISBN: 978-0983944409
Page Count: 26
Publisher: DPB Products
Review Posted Online: Feb. 10, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
© 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.
