by Erin McGill ; illustrated by Erin McGill ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 2019
As Maria shows, some things are worth fighting for.
Maria’s clothes always match the occasion as well as her accessories, but she’s about to “lose [her] matchy-matchy mind.”
The book’s beautiful, flowery cover foreshadows the world Maria lives in. In the living room Maria’s outfit blends in with the print of the comfy chair she’s sitting in. At school her laces, lunchbox, backpack, and even the barrettes holding back her black hair match. One comical two-page spread shows Maria’s flowery yellow underwear matching her dress. Maria’s problem here, though, is not the outfits: It’s her mom. “My mom picks out all of my clothes. She makes everyone…and everything match.” Maria longs to mix it up, and in her fight for the right to self-expression, she rebels, conceals, debates, and marches. Finally, Mom concedes, even wearing her own unmatchy outfit: “Polka dots and petunias!” By the end of the book, Maria exults that “this is me. Marvelous, unmatching, mix-it-up me!” McGill’s humorous illustrations mix patterns, textiles, and collage to great effect. Readers might want to pair this book with Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match/Marisol McDonald no combina, by Monica Brown and illustrated by Sara Palacios (2011), for a look at another child who rejoices in her individuality. Maria and her mother have black hair and olive skin; her school friends have a variety of skin and hair colors.
As Maria shows, some things are worth fighting for. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-944903-72-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cameron + Company
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
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adapted by Mara Alperin ; illustrated by Nick East ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2016
No substitutes for more traditional renditions—but not spoiled by the alterations, either.
Chicken Little may not be “the brightest chicken in the coop,” but he’s definitely not the only birdbrain in this version of the classic tale.
In East’s cartoon illustrations, Chicken Little leads the familiar crew of feathered followers (including Henny Penny, who often is the one to take the acorn on the noggin in other versions) in a comically frantic dash to find the king. But so badly does the decidedly shifty-looking Foxy Loxy bungle the climactic nab that not only do the birds escape, but Foxy is trucked off behind bars while the king calms the kerfuffle by pointing to the perfectly intact sky. The fox does better in the co-published Gingerbread Man, illustrated by Miriam Latimer, as he gobbles down his sugary treat—after which the lonely bakers take all the other hungry animals home for a “fantastic feast” of cakes and pastries. In Rumpelstiltskin, illustrated by Loretta Schauer, though the scraggly-bearded little man only has to spin straw into gold for one night, Alperin mostly sticks to the traditional plotline and ultimately sends him through the floor and into the royal dungeon so that baby Hugo and his parents live happily ever after. The illustrations in all three of these uniform editions share traditional settings, all-white humans, and bright, simple looks. The retellings are aimed at younger audiences, though by cutting the cumulative language in Chicken Little and Gingerbread Man to a minimum, the author drains some of the distinctive tone and character from those folk tales.
No substitutes for more traditional renditions—but not spoiled by the alterations, either. (Picture book/folk tale. 5-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-58925-476-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
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adapted by MaryChris Bradley ; illustrated by Gwé
by Amy Blay ; illustrated by Amy Blay ; translated by Susan Allen Maurin ; adapted by MaryChris Bradley
adapted by Mara Alperin ; illustrated by Erica-Jane Waters
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adapted by Mara Alperin ; illustrated by Sue Eastland
by Cynthia Rylant & illustrated by Mark Teague ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2000
Here is Poppleton at his brief, mellow, sentimental best, mooning over the pleasure of friends in the coziest of settings. Accompanied by artwork that presents Poppleton as a lovable porker with a hint of the rascal in his body language, Rylant’s (The High-Rise Private Eyes, p. 964, etc.) first story finds Poppleton going solo to the movies. At first this seems a nifty idea—no having to share the eats—but fast becomes an exercise in loneliness, as Poppleton has no one to share the laughs and shivers and tears with. It is always better to have a friend to join in the fun, he concludes. Next, Poppleton and three pals have a quilting bee, during which they entertain each other with stories about their respective pasts, and images from the stories get sewn into the quilt, as if by osmosis. Afterward, they take turns using the quilt: “Poppleton got it in summer. Fillmore got it in fall. Cherry Sue got it in winter. And Hudson got it in spring. Every season of the year, someone was sleeping under stories.” Lastly, Poppleton runs out of bath emollients—nothing he liked better than a soak with lavender, lemon, and silky milk—so he visits Cherry Sue to see if he can borrow some. She only takes showers, but offers him some sweet smells from the kitchen: Blueberries? Vanilla? Cinnamon? No, says Poppleton, but lets go get something to eat. “Poppleton missed his soak that day. But it was okay. He was very happy smelling like a banana split.” Poppleton is a darling, especially so in these stories, which can be favorably paired with tales in which he is a bit more of a rogue element. (Easy reader. 5-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-590-84839-9
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2000
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