by Ellen Howard & illustrated by Ronald Himler ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 15, 1996
An atmosphere of restrained grief and quiet struggle suffuses this almost inspirational story from Howard (A Different Kind of Courage, p. 170, etc.) that draws on the experiences of 19th- century pioneers. The story opens as Elvirey's family—grandmother, father, sister, and brother—buries her mother and leaves Carolina by wagon for Michigan. Their father is against bringing along Mam's things- -``There ain't no room for suchlike,'' Pap says. Granny defiantly brings along a bag of quilting scraps, saying, ``I aim to set on it.'' After a long trip west, they clear the land and build a log cabin, but it never feels like home. One cold fall day Pap leaves them all to go hunting. Night falls and the cabin grows colder and lonelier. As the moss and dirt between the logs freeze and fall out, Elvirey chinks the walls with fabric scraps, making the ``log cabin quilt'' of the title. Pap, on his return, says, ``Your mam would be proud. The place is downright homey.'' Elvirey observes that it isn't the scraps but ``Mam's name said out loud'' that makes the cabin home. Himler's soft pencil and watercolor paintings show unusual grace and are most affecting in the spot illustrations and exterior scenes. The interiors are darker, and quite accurately, muddier. This meditation on a small triumph over loss will add humanity to school units on the pioneers. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 1996
ISBN: 0-8234-1247-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1996
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by Ellen Howard
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by Ellen Howard & illustrated by Ronald Himler
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by Ellen Howard & illustrated by Ronald Himler
by Pete Seeger & Paul Dubois Jacobs & illustrated by Michael Hays ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2001
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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by Pete Seeger & Paul Dubois Jacobs & illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
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by Pete Seeger & Paul Dubois Jacobs & illustrated by Michael Hays
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adapted by Pete Seeger & illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal ; illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2015
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Christy Webster ; illustrated by Brigette Barrager & Chiara Fiorentino
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by Tom Lichtenheld & Amy Krouse Rosenthal ; illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld
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by Amy Krouse Rosenthal ; illustrated by Mike Yamada
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