A lovely and needed story of familia in which love conquers loss.
Family love in the face of loss is poignantly shared by de Anda and Harris.
Luis, Mama, Papi, their dog, Sancho, and beloved Abuelo are one tight familia. When Luis gets home from school he spends the afternoons with Abuelo building models, learning to paint, and sharing stories alongside tasty snacks. As time passes, things begin to change. When Abuelo can no longer remember how to fit the models together, he and Luis can still paint side by side. When he forgets to turn off the stove, quesadillas transform into tasty PB&Js instead. But when Abuelo goes missing one day, it is clear things are changing quickly and will never be the same. What afflicts Abuelo is never explicitly identified as the story unfolds, tenderly told in simple first person from Luis’ innocent and loving perspective as he slowly confronts new symptoms of his grandfather’s progressive dementia. His mother gives Luis sage advice that even though Abuelo’s memory is slipping he will always feel Luis’ love. Though this is certainly a sweet sentiment, many dementia patients experience apathy and changes in personality along with their memory loss, so the truth of Mama’s words is somewhat in doubt. This is nevertheless a touching and well-told story of the heartbreak of memory loss through the lens of family-oriented Latino culture.
A lovely and needed story of familia in which love conquers loss. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8075-1492-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
PERSPECTIVES
An inventive idea cleverly executed.
A dinosaur story of family and size.
This surprising picture book uses illustrations that slowly build in tension to create a sense of high drama paired with simple, informative text that, on its own, says very little. “Some dinosaurs are small,” it starts, with a wee green reptile happily gathering pineapples in a basket. “They have tiny flat teeth for munching through fruit and leaves,” it goes on, with the small protagonist plucking a pear. But the next page, which says merely that “Some dinosaurs are BIG,” starts to introduce anxiety as enormous yellow and orange legs and tails flank the much smaller dino. The following page introduces two menacing theropods who, accordingly, “have huge pointy teeth and sharp claws.” Readers learn additional basic facts about the personalities and habits of the bigger dinosaurs as they steal fruit from the little one, who at first peeks over its shoulder anxiously and then bolts away. But luckily, the last dinosaur readers meet, who is “simply… /ENORMOUS,” turns out to be the teeny one’s mother, and she scares away the relatively puny carnivores. The well-paced text steadily and deliberately drives the image-drawn action forward, making for an engaging read-aloud that’s sure to appeal to dinosaur lovers and their friends.
An inventive idea cleverly executed. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0936-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
An affectionate, mouthwatering tale.
Based on a true story, this illustrated children’s book explains the origin of a signature sandwich.
After leaving Palermo, Sicily, Signor Salvatore Lupo comes to New Orleans in 1906. He plans to open a grocery shop stocked with delicacies such as pasta, salami, and more, catering to immigrants like him who miss the taste of home. Nearby, another Sicilian opens a bakery for Italian-style breads, which Salvatore stocks in his shop as part of the lunchtime spread. Though Salvatore’s shop is popular, it’s also small, and some customers have to eat standing up. The traditional style is to have a plate with lots of separate items like cheese, salami, olives, bread, and more, because “Sicilians only ate one thing at a time.” But crowded people and small plates lead to a lot of spills, so Salvatore has a brilliant nontraditional idea: make an olive salad and pile it with salami, ham, and Swiss cheese onto a crusty Italian loaf. Unfortunately, customers complain that the resulting sandwich is too hard to chew until Salvatore has another great notion—use soft muffuletta bread instead. The dish is a huge hit and is still a New Orleans specialty. In her second children’s book, Saunders tells a lively story full of energetic exclamations like “Mamma Mia!” and “kurplunk!” The tale celebrates immigrant ingenuity and the birth of new traditions that still honor one’s roots. Salvatore’s accent could be considered stereotypical, as in “How abouta everything goes on to the breada?” But it’s in the context of respecting his achievements. The work includes recipes for olive salad and muffuletta bread as well as background information about Salvatore and how Saunders came to write the book. The author’s watercolor and ink illustrations, which depict a light-skinned cast, are amusing, gently colored, and sprightly.
An affectionate, mouthwatering tale. (bibliography)Pub Date: Feb. 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-950169-32-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Spork
Review Posted Online: Nov. 25, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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