A charming winter story about friendship and making do with love.
Waking up on a cold winter morning to fresh snow makes little Gabo wish for nothing more than a sled…and maybe a new friend.
Gabo walks into the kitchen to the familiar sounds of the old steam radiator whistling and a can in a saucepan on the stove, bouncing as the water boils, when he sees children from his new school sledding outside. Gabo very much wants to join them, but his hat is too small, his socks are cotton (not wool), and his shoes are not waterproof. And he doesn’t have a sled. Gabo’s mom helps out, and with his dad’s hat, four pairs of socks, and plastic bags over his sneakers, he is ready to go outside. Gabo comes across different neighbors and family members in his community, and eventually he makes a new friend who is good at thinking outside the box and teaches him that a cafeteria tray can be a sled with a little imagination. This sweet story centers a Latinx family and touches on issues of poverty. Spanish words and phrases are scattered throughout, accessible to non–Spanish speakers through context, though some touches (such as the dulce de leche Gabo enjoys with his new friend at the end of the day) are left unexplained for readers familiar with the culture to savor. The illustrations are bright and cheerful, making everything stand out nicely against the snowy day. Big expressions on Gabo’s face will be easy for young kids to identify and relate to what he is feeling across his journey. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 48.5% of actual size.)
A charming winter story about friendship and making do with love. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-4534-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Well-nigh Wondrous.
When a strange orb falls into their habitat, the Spider commandeers it, constructing “WonderVille” and selling tickets to long lines of curious insects.
The object (readers will recognize it as a yellow-green marble) invites considerable speculation. Is it a gumdrop, a comet, a chrysalis? The Spider, nixing the chatter, asserts that “whatever it is, it most certainly belongs to me,” insisting that the sphere has fallen into his web. He constructs a “Grand Exhibit” to showcase “the Wonder from the Sky.” As lines of visitors lengthen, admission increases from one leaf to two—then more—until visitors cease. The Spider presumes they’ve gone to invite prospective customers. That self-aggrandizing assumption is rendered moot by “the Unexpected Disaster. / A five-legged creature stole the Wonder and took it back to the sky.” (This deus ex machina is a child’s hand.) Time passes, WonderVille reverts to its previous state, and insects return. The Spider, ignored, experiences a nighttime epiphany as stars shine down. “They didn’t hide their light from anyone. Not even a selfish Spider.” Patiently, he spins webs, and “sure enough, more Wonders fell from the sky.” In graphite-gray spreads rife with delicate flora, colorful new “Wonders” (a thimble, pushpin, Lego, and more) captivate the neighborhood—free of charge. The Fans’ marvelous illustrations sparkle with nuance, from lofting dandelion seeds to the Spider’s dew-dropped web. The pro-community message is slightly undermined by the choice to portray a gendered, top-hatted, preponderantly male cast. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Well-nigh Wondrous. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-5762-1
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
A thoughtful role model for aspiring inventors.
In this collaboration from mother/daughter duo Corrigan and Corrigan Lichty, a youngster longs to quit the soccer team so she can continue dreaming up more inventions.
Marianne, a snazzily dressed young maker with tan skin, polka-dot glasses, and reddish-brown hair in two buns, feels out of place on the pitch. Her soccer-loving dad signed her up for the team, but she’d much rather be home tinkering and creating. One day she feigns illness to get out of practice (relying on a trick she learned from the film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) and uses her newfound time to create a flying machine made from bath towels, umbrellas, cans, and more. Eventually, her dad catches wind of her deception, and she tells him she prefers inventing to playing soccer. Immediately supportive, he plops a pot on his head and becomes Marianne’s tinkering apprentice. Told in lilting rhymes, the story resolves its conflicts rather speedily (Marianne confesses to hating soccer in one swift line). Though the text is wordy at times, it’s quite jaunty, and adults (and retro-loving kids) will chuckle at the ’80s references, from the Ferris Bueller and Dirty Dancing movie posters in Marianne’s room to the name of her dog, Patrick Swayze. True to Marianne’s creative nature, Sweetland surrounds her with lots of clutter and scraps, as well as plenty of bits and bobs. One never knows where inspiration will strike next.
A thoughtful role model for aspiring inventors. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9780593206096
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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