City Angel, an urban, updated patron saint, hovers above the city skyline, intervening to make good things happen: petting the baker’s kitchen cat, planting seeds in a vacant lot, soothing a cranky child, assisting a firefighter and a homeless man, helping the player make the basket in the corner game, and having some fun herself, cruising on a skateboard. From morning ’til night, City Angel flies through the painterly landscape, practicing “random acts of kindness” towards its racially diverse inhabitants. Collage-and-oil illustrations are the focus of this work. The curving, tilting, twisting, intersecting forms and figures create a vibrant, rhythmic view of the angel’s intervention. Illustrations aside, will the rhyming text engage a younger reader enough to comprehend the simultaneous, unrelated events connected by the whimsical acts of this urban angel? Hard to tell, but Brooker’s pictures are wonderful. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-8037-2821-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2004
Both a celebration of and an introduction to the mosque.
Children welcome readers into different mosques to learn about varying activities and services that take place in them.
Though many different mosques and children are depicted, the voices call readers’ attention to the similarities among Muslim communities around the world. Yuksel highlights the community eating together; women, men, and children sharing the space and praying together; grandfathers thumbing their tasbihs; grandmothers reading the Quran; aunties giving hugs; children playing. The effect is to demonstrate that a mosque is more than just a building but rather a space where children and adults come together to pray, give, learn, and play. Joyful characters describe what happens in simple, poetic language: “In my mosque, the muezzin’s call to prayer echoes in the air. I stand shoulder to shoulder with my friends, linked like one long chain.” Aly’s bright illustrations pair well with Yuksel’s words, ending with a beautiful spread of children staring at readers, waving and extending their hands: “You are welcome in my mosque.” The variety of mosques included suggests that each has its own unique architecture, but repeating geometric patterns and shapes underscore that there are similarities too. The author’s note guides readers to her website for more information on the mosques depicted; they are not labeled, which is frustrating since the backmatter also includes a tantalizing list of famous mosques on every continent except Antarctica.
Both a celebration of and an introduction to the mosque. (glossary, sources) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 23, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-297870-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
An age-appropriate, biblically grounded, comforting picture book that can help answer kids’ questions about the afterlife.
Emmy Award–winning journalist and ABC News anchor Davis looks at the hereafter through the eyes of a child.
A young, brown-skinned boy is missing his deceased grandmother. “Every day she’s watching over me,” he notes and wonders how he can get to heaven to visit her. He has much he would “like to tell her” and “lots of questions too.” He considers building a staircase to heaven (the artwork depicts one made of Lego bricks), making himself a pair of wings, bouncing his way up to kingdom come using a trampoline, and journeying there via hot air balloon. When the boy, along with his sister and his (apparently) single mom, makes a long-distance trip to visit his grandfather, he hopes their airplane ride will take him to the pearly gates; luckily, it doesn’t! It is only while attending church with his family one day that he finally discovers the single way to get to heaven: “It’s not how far you travel, / or not just the things you do. / It’s all about faith and the grace of God / that brings this gift to you.” A double-page spread goes on to describe how we must live our lives if we want paradise to be our reward, and the book ends with an interesting perspective on heaven that brings readers back down to earth. Davis’ rhyming text is sweet and heartfelt but often struggles for scansion. While no particular religion is mentioned, the book’s point of view is manifestly Christian. Fleming’s bright and airy digital paintings faithfully reproduce the textures of traditional mediums and feed the imagination with forays into gentle whimsy. The main cast of characters is Black; some illustrations include diverse representation.
An age-appropriate, biblically grounded, comforting picture book that can help answer kids’ questions about the afterlife. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-310-77006-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Zonderkidz
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
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