by Diane Gonzales Bertrand ; illustrated by Carolyn Dee Flores ; translated by Rossy Lima-Padilla ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 31, 2019
Positive reflections of children’s experiences within Mexican families balance this collection’s unevenness.
Bertrand’s collection of bilingual poems offers a (mostly) child’s view of the surrounding world.
Odes to cherished objects like Easter cascarones (confetti-filled eggs), favorite foods like cinnamon buñuelos, and fond moments like napping together in Pepo’s favorite chair root the poems in Mexican familial culture while also touching on universal topics. Lima-Padilla’s Spanish translation of the entire book follows the English version. The collection targets intermediate readers, but some poems reflect a much younger voice that likely won’t resonate with middle-grade readers: “We climb aboard, chugging upon the seats / as we ‘choo-choo’ along.” Others require more emotional depth from readers, as in the downright sad “My Piñata Cowboy,” in which a heartbroken child empathetically looks on at a piñata’s demise: “He’s beaten, broken and empty. / Why does no one care?” A tribute poem to the children of Houston compares Hurricane Harvey to a bully using a third-person adult perspective. The overall result is a lack of cohesive voice in both age and tone. In an author’s note, Bertrand cites previous appearances of some work, which helps to explain the disjointed perspective. Nevertheless, the odes to family members stand out for their genuine appreciation for slice-of-life moments, such as in relishing Abuelita’s delicious raisin tamales, Tía María’s hugs, or learning to dance to cumbia from Daddy.
Positive reflections of children’s experiences within Mexican families balance this collection’s unevenness. (Poetry. 6-9)Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-55885-891-6
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Piñata Books/Arte Público
Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
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by Julia Kregenow ; illustrated by Carmen Saldaña ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 4, 2018
Nourishing fare for young stargazers who really, truly do “wonder what you are.” (Informational picture book. 6-9)
From an astrophysicist, the straight dope on stars and starry phenomena.
Kregenow responds to the popular nursery rhyme in the same metrical vein but with analytical precision: “Opaque ball of hot dense gas, / million times our planet’s mass, / looking small because you’re far, / I know exactly what you are.” Further verses clear the air about constellations (“at best / just a cosmic Rorschach test”), why stars twinkle, why they shine in different colors, how they can turn into neutron stars or black holes, and so on. Notes at the end, with small photos, offer further detail on these and other cosmic concepts. Saldaña sandwiches painted images of stars and star fields, planets, and dust clouds between views of two dark-haired beige-skinned children peering through a bedroom telescope at the night sky and using a printed guidebook to identify what they’re seeing, then falling asleep beneath a spray of stars projected by a night light. The technical vocabulary as well as the narrative’s coldly rational tone and blanket claims of certainty lay a heavy load on the original verse—but in the end the references to pulsars and supernovas, to billions of years and miles, and the uniqueness (so far) of our planet as a home for life amid the Milky Way’s “Quarter trillion stars” are less apt to quash the wondering than crank it up.
Nourishing fare for young stargazers who really, truly do “wonder what you are.” (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4926-7006-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
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by Georgia Heard ; illustrated by Aaron DeWitt ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 12, 2019
In the hands of the right presenter, this book could lead to exciting aural experiences.
Kids love to make animal noises.
The 13 poems in this collection vary in style, but all rely heavily on accurate animal sounds made by mammals, reptiles, birds, insects, and fish. A “performance key” on the contents page gives instructions for the proper reading by “two or more readers.” The poems are printed primarily in two colors, each meant for a reader (or readers) to read alternately, with a third signifying unison. The last poem, “Forest Orchestra,” has a different pattern, explained on that page, and could lead to a culminating symphony of sounds. With an adult leader to direct, the poems could become part of a creative performance piece, and use as a home read-aloud could lead to playful adult-child interaction. The bold, digital illustrations have a painterly feel. “Rattlesnake’s Warning,” with its words printed in white and orange on a black double-page spread, is wonderfully enhanced by a coiled snake with mouth agape and two sharp fangs waiting. This poem is one of the more powerful, with its short verses: “By night, / I see your heat / as I slither / near your feet” punctuated by the “chhhhhh-chhhhhh-chhhhhh” sound of the rattle. Fascinating closing notes offer opportunities for caregivers to extend the instruction, but children aren’t likely to peruse these dense pages.
In the hands of the right presenter, this book could lead to exciting aural experiences. (Picture book/poetry. 6-9)Pub Date: March 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-62091-520-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Wordsong/Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
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