A gentle story, meant to comfort, has a plentiful supply of bathos. The angels are preparing a sapphire blue, silk dress for Elise, but she’s not ready yet, and neither is the dress. Elise must finish her teaching and her time on earth, and the angels must find blue pearls for “her earthly heart and her heavenly soul”—although pearls don’t come in blue. The head angel finds the smallest oyster, scoops up its blue aura—“for angels can do such things”—and tucks it inside the oyster. With patience, the angels wait and the round-faced Angelica brings angel courage for Elise to spend one last week with her children and then finds the blue pearls that enable her welcome to heaven. The illustrations in many shades of blue, rose, and gold are comforting and reassuring; the text is heartfelt, just bordering on the mawkish. A very formal, somewhat prissy style begs the question of audience. God and the afterlife are implied rather than stated (as the higher power and as the angelic realm), but plainly this is more suited to a religious interpreter. Warfel says in a note that the story is inspired by a dream she had when her daughter was dying of cancer, and some of the royalties will go to a London bereavement center. Children do not need to know about that, however—the more important issue is whether they can find solace here. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-902283-78-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2001
What if the market was closed when you wanted to bake a pie? You could embark for Europe, learn Italian en route, and pick up some semolina wheat in Italy, an egg in France, kurundu bark for cinnamon in Sri Lanka, and an entire cow in England (butter) before coming home via Jamaica (sugar) and Vermont (apples). The expertly designed illustrations in which a dark-haired lass journeys by various means to these interesting places to get her groceries are lovely and lively, and the narrative, too, travels at a spritely pace. The journey is neither quite logical enough to be truly informative nor quite bizarre enough to be satisfyingly silly, while the rich, sweet recipe that's appended will take some adult assistance. Still, fun. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: May 2, 1994
ISBN: 0-679-83705-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1994
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
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