Johnson (Sunday Week, 1999, etc.) and Ransome (The Secret of the Stones, 2000, etc.) create an affirming story of an African-American family. The girl narrator praises her grandma “Hattie Lottie Annie Quinnie Blue” and bets that she was just like her, since, it turns out, she's named after her. “Quinnie Blue, I bet you walked barefoot outdoors. Did you hear your mama say, ‘Girl, put some shoes on your feet or you might get worms?’ Or did she say, ‘Doesn't the green grass feel good tickling your toes?’” Ransome illustrates the rural Carolina setting in rich-colored oil paintings, echoing Johnson's refrain of “Quinnie Blue” with a vibrant cobalt that shows up in each composition. The page or page-and-a-half spreads are set on a frame of stained wood, against which the text and collaged spot painting make each double-paged spread feel like an open scrapbook. Cleverly, and intrinsic to the book’s success, he’s illustrated both Quinnies. On the blue-stained wood frames we see a young Grandma Quinnie sitting on the porch with family or climbing a fence; on the pink-stained wood frames we see contemporary Quinnie playing clap games (on the very same porch) or reciting at church. In these pictures, Grandma Quinnie often watches from the background, until the two are brought together at the end. Both the young Quinnies are realistic and energetic; the illustrations of both time periods have an immediacy typical of Ransome’s work. The rhythm of the text, along with the details and celebratory mood of the illustrations, makes this an excellent choice for family sharing. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-8050-4378-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Charming.
An assortment of unusual characters form friendships and help each other become their best selves.
Mr. and Mrs. Tupper, who live at Number 3 Ramshorn Drive, are antiquarians. Their daughter, Jillian, loves and cares for a plant named Ivy, who has “three speckles on each leaf and three letters in her name.” Toasty, the grumpy goldfish, lives in an octagonal tank and wishes he were Jillian’s favorite; when Arthur the spider arrives inside an antique desk, he brings wisdom and insight. Ollie the violet plant, Louise the bee, and Sunny the canary each arrive with their own quirks and problems to solve. Each character has a distinct personality and perspective; sometimes they clash, but more often they learn to empathize, see each other’s points of view, and work to help one another. They also help the Tupper family with bills and a burglar. The Fan brothers’ soft-edged, old-fashioned, black-and-white illustrations depict Toasty and Arthur with tiny hats; Ivy and Ollie have facial expressions on their plant pots. The Tuppers have paper-white skin and dark hair. The story comes together like a recipe: Simple ingredients combine, transform, and rise into something wonderful. In its matter-of-fact wisdom, rich vocabulary (often defined within the text), hint of magic, and empathetic nonhuman characters who solve problems in creative ways, this delightful work is reminiscent of Ferris by Kate DiCamillo, Our Friend Hedgehog by Lauren Castillo, and Ivy Lost and Found by Cynthia Lord and Stephanie Graegin.
Charming. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781665942485
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
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