An in-your-face version of a 1966 action poem, with a retro look and feel (do demolition crews still use pickaxes and sledgehammers?). In Merriam's kinetic depiction of an urban rebuilding project, the ambiguity hinted at (there is excitement as well as regret in the lines, ``Down go the houses,/down go the stores'') here is overshadowed by the violence of the demolition process: the wrecking ball seems about to fly off the page into viewers' laps. Noisy words (``slam,'' ``bam,'' ``crash,'' ``pow,'' ``zam'') appear in fat, colored type (although a ``zowie'' is nearly lost in a blue-on-black treatment), the palette is built around intensely vibrating complementary colors, and the stylized figures of the workers (exaggerated shoulders and torsos tapering to absurdly tiny hands, feet, and heads) gleam with the slick highlights of shiny plastic inflatable toys. A real attention- getter, this book looks as harsh and raucous as it sounds. (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: March 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-8050-3527-3
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1995
Through quick thinking and personal sacrifice, a wise old Japanese farmer saves the people of his village from a devastating tsunami in this simple yet striking story based on Lafcadio Hearn’s “A Living God.” Ojiisan lives in a cottage on a mountain overlooking the village and sea. One day, villagers gather to celebrate the rice harvest, but Ojiisan stays home thinking “something does not feel right.” When the earth quakes and the sea darkens and runs away from the land, Ojiisan realizes a tsunami approaches. Fearing the oblivious villagers will be swept away, Ojiisan torches his rice fields to attract attention, and they respond, barely escaping the monster wave. Rendered in gouache, pastel and collage, Young’s illustrations cleverly combine natural textures, bold colors and abstract shapes to convey compelling images of chaos and disaster as the rice fields burn and the wave rushes in. In one literally breathtaking double-page spread, an enormous wall of water engulfs the teeny seacoast village. A visually powerful and dramatic tribute to one man’s willingness to sacrifice everything for others. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25006-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
Momo longed to carry the blue umbrella and wear the bright red rubber boots she had been given on her third birthday. But day after day Indian summer continued. Momo tried to tell mother she needed to carry the umbrella to nursery school because the sunshine bothered her eyes. But Mother didn't let her use the umbrella then or when she said the wind bothered her. At last, though, rain fell on the city pavements and Momo carried her umbrella and wore her red boots to school. One feels the urgency of Momo's wish. The pictures are full of the city's moods and the child's joy in a rainy day.
Pub Date: March 1, 1958
ISBN: 978-0-14-050240-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Dec. 9, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1958
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