Old-fashioned in all the senses of the word, but quite charming in its art-deco shapes and vintage colors; Sylvie and her...
A beloved Swedish author’s picture books are finding their way into English more than 85 years after their original publication.
This tale from 1934 is the second to appear in 2011, and while not quite so enchanting as The Land of Long Ago, it shares the same straightforward simplicity. Princess Sylvie and her father love going for walks in the palace gardens. The “big strong king” wears his red cloak and sash (and his crown, of course), and his velvets have a pocket of sweets for Sylvie. She and her dog, Oskar, want to leave the gardens to explore the woods beyond, but the king is doubtful. (His Majesty’s expressions, from doubt to confusion to surprise to annoyance, are quite funny.) But off they go, and Oskar immediately chases a hare. Sylvie runs after him, but the king, enraptured by the wildness of the wood, does not see her go. The hare hides behind a bear(!), who greets Oskar as a playmate. The bear bows to Sylvie and invites her to ride upon his back until her befuddled father orders her down, leashes Oskar and takes her tightly by the hand so they can get home in time for tea. The bear looks like a very large teddy, the “wild” wood is spacious and airy and Sylvie never loses her tiny crown or musses her dress. And the hare has a great story to tell his family.
Old-fashioned in all the senses of the word, but quite charming in its art-deco shapes and vintage colors; Sylvie and her dog and her dad will probably find themselves well-known once again. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-086315-813-1
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Floris
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Visually distinctive, but a little disingenuous in its approach to the science that underlies it.
This charming if superficial story follows two little birds from the moment they burst from their shells.
They feed, frolic and grow. One night, they look up to see a great flock of migrating birds, and anxious not to be left behind, they decide to join them. They encounter thunderstorms, power lines and other perils along the way, but after a grueling flight over the ocean, they land, exhausted, in a new country and find themselves in the warm sunlight, surrounded by tropical vegetation. All around them are other little birds, feasting on the strange plants and insects, flitting about and enjoying the company of the other migrants. Soon, however, their instincts tell them it is time to leave and make the perilous journey back home, where the process starts all over again, with mating, nest building and laying eggs. DePalma’s gentle illustrations make use of a skillful blend of acrylics and torn–tissue-paper collage, overlaid on canvas so the visibility of the painted fabric adds interest and variety to the illustrations. While attractively produced, the text is somewhat perfunctory and lacks informative detail. Questions curious children might wish to ask about the science of migration and birds’ life cycles remain unanswered, though an afterword discloses that DePalma bases her tale on orchard orioles and their annual migration to and from the Yucatán.
Visually distinctive, but a little disingenuous in its approach to the science that underlies it. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5421-6
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
Even the youngest children don’t deserve this degree of dumbing down.
Little Raindrop journeys from cloud to sea and back again.
This is the water cycle, but it’s a simplistic telling that lacks any scientific vocabulary and stars an anthropomorphized water droplet with a face, hands and feet. Little Raindrop’s adventure begins as he falls from a cloud “[o]ne dark and stormy day,” but by the page turn, there’s enough sunlight to have made a rainbow, which Little Raindrop falls through, enjoying the colors along the way. Landing in a depression on a rock, his journey continues when other drops (nonanthropomorphized) accumulate enough to make his puddle overflow. Joining a stream, he sees all kinds of animals and chases the sticks the children toss in the water. When his stream joins a river, Little Raindrop avoids the sharp rocks of the waterfalls; in the sea, he meets dolphins. Coming to rest on the sand, “Little Raindrop got hotter and hotter, until the warmth of the sun drew him up into the air,” still in the shape of a raindrop, where he joins other smiling droplets in a gray cloud. Kolanovic’s illustrations have the gritty look of crayon drawings. Little Raindrop’s surroundings match his small size; while the background details are simple, the animals he encounters all sweet—cloyingly so. Fortunately the wellspring of intellectually respectful titles on the water cycle is far from dry.
Even the youngest children don’t deserve this degree of dumbing down. (Informational picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-62873-821-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2014
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
