Stick with Kimmel’s many other, vastly superior, Hanukkah books.
A Greek boy and a Judean boy become unlikely friends at the time of the Hanukkah story.
In Jason and Jonathan’s Judea, the Greek colonizers and the Jews they rule over live in a somewhat troubled peace. They go to different schools and speak different languages, but people are allowed to live and worship as they please. Nonetheless, many Judeans (mostly illustrated with brown or olive skin and dark hair) resent the Greeks (mostly light-skinned, many with pale yellow hair). In this fraught balance, Jonathan and Jason bond over the important things in life: teaching each other slick wrestling moves, playing discus, and discussing the nature of the divine. Jonathan accompanies Jason to Greek school, while Jason joins Jonathan’s family for (somewhat anachronistic) religious celebrations. But their fragile friendship comes to an end when wicked King Antiochus blames the Jews for his own troubles. The boys are pulled into the bloody war that paves the way for the Maccabean victory and the Hanukkah miracle. An author’s note speaks to the aim of reaching for the real history behind the tropes of this most widely known Jewish holiday, but the tale still owes vastly more to myth than to history. The clunky, oddly proportioned comics panels, with blocky but movement-filled composition, don’t complement the philosophical narrative.
Stick with Kimmel’s many other, vastly superior, Hanukkah books. (historical note) (Graphic historical fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-68115-571-5
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Apples & Honey Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
Italics and exclamation points may be overused, but this new humorous series is full of gently amusing magical surprises.
Shades of Bewitched, the old TV show featuring a witch married to a regular guy.
This new chapter-book series stars Pandora, a white girl with two grandmas—the good witch, Granny Crow, in a patterned minidress, whose magical powers enliven any party or school outing, and Granny Podmore, in her cardigan and plaid skirt, a kind but stereotypical grandmother who cleans and cooks. Pandora’s friends include Nellie, a black girl, and Nellie’s mom is also depicted as black in the exuberant line drawings with gray washes. The three chapterlong adventures are rather tame, meant for readers who want fun rather than fright. In “The Super-Spooky Fright Night!” (all titles have exclamation points), the two grandmothers host a Halloween party. Granny Crow creates “bat-shaped cookies that hung around the bowls, and a custard cat (that actually meowed!).” Granny Podmore makes “the neatest swans” from napkins. Granny Crow conjures up musical broomsticks when Granny Podmore wants to introduce musical chairs. The evening ends happily when Granny Podmore uses Ollie, her vacuum cleaner, to suck up little pumpkins from Granny Crow’s pumpkin pop gone wild. Only Granny Crow appears in the other stories, making teddy bears come alive to give a “teddy bears’ picnic!” and causing a nasty teacher to accidentally cast a spell that turns a school swimming lesson into utter chaos.
Italics and exclamation points may be overused, but this new humorous series is full of gently amusing magical surprises. (Fantasy. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-8653-6
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
A Christian tale of the bond between humans and animals with thoughtful prose.
A woman and her pet parakeet learn the value of their connection in this dramatic, faith-centered children’s book.
Munchie is a parakeet who lives with Grandmommie, an older woman whom he adores and who loves him dearly. Despite their affectionate relationship, Munchie does find himself yearning to be free outdoors, and has escaped from his cage several times. He especially admires blue jays, birds he considers cool, confident, and beautiful. One day, Grandmommie decides to treat Munchie by bringing him outside in his cage while she gets some gardening work done. While she has her back turned, the neighborhood cat decides to cause some mischief by knocking over Munchie’s cage and freeing the bird, who immediately takes to the skies. Grandmommie is beside herself with grief and guilt, and begins to search for Munchie, to no avail. The next day, she sees him outside on a telephone wire amid a group of the blue jays he reveres. He flies off before she is able to recapture him, convinced that freedom is better than captivity. While Grandmommie is away tending to some neighbors, a fierce thunderstorm persuades Munchie that he is not ready to live outdoors after all. He gets Grandmommie’s attention from the window and immediately flies back indoors, appreciating the goodness in his life. This enjoyable tale is richly illustrated with bright, digitally rendered artwork by Honasan. Grandmommie displays a deep Christian faith, and much of the time she is praying for guidance or thanking God. The premise is not very original, but Barr’s prose is engaging: “Hiding beneath an overgrowth of ivy covered bushes, an unseen presence, dark and sinister, watched and waited for the perfect opportunity.”
A Christian tale of the bond between humans and animals with thoughtful prose.Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-973670-60-5
Page Count: 74
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: April 22, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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