An intriguing but uneven tale with a lovely environmental theme and some gorgeous images.
A rhyming picture book offers an appreciation of nature.
Opening with a quote from naturalist John Muir, Cade’s story starts on a strong note, showing humanity’s connection to the natural world in a stunning opening illustration. Describing how “nature’s factory takes / in toxins, giving back air,” the rhyming text leans into metaphors of how Mother Nature provides everything that is needed. For the most part, this tale is effective, especially when describing the natural world’s beauty and the unity of all living things. Calling on readers to do their part, the narrator emphasizes the responsibility humans have to care for the planet. But despite the idea of unity, credits given to Native Americans as “our first stewards” who taught “us to take / only what we need— / and leave abundance / guaranteed” feel awkward. The author is clearly trying to praise Indigenous peoples, but doesn’t quite succeed. The text glosses over broken treaties and treats Native Americans as a monolith. In addition, Riegler’s mixed-media images represent Native peoples with stereotypical iconography. Still, the rest of the illustrations are beautiful, particularly when representing Earth in human form, with ocean skirts and forests in her hair. The watercolor backgrounds deliver a sense of realism, and the sweet cartoon animals have kid appeal. While Cade’s scansion shifts, the rhymes are easy to find and the flow is musical. But the choice to use cursive for key phrases may stymie emergent readers.
An intriguing but uneven tale with a lovely environmental theme and some gorgeous images.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Snapdragon Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 23, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A tender bedtime tale set in a too-seldom-seen northern world.
A quiet book for putting young children to bed in a state of snowy wonder.
The magic of the north comes alive in a picture book featuring Inuit characters. In the sky at nighttime, snow falls fast. / … / In the sky at nighttime, a raven roosts atop a tall building. / … / In the sky at nighttime, a mother’s delicate song to her child arises like a gentle breeze.” With the repetition of the simple, titular refrain, the author envisions what happens in a small town at night: Young children see their breath in the cold; a hunter returns on his snowmobile; the stars dazzle in the night sky. A young mother rocks her baby to sleep with a song and puts the tot down with a trio of stuffed animals: hare, polar bear, seal. The picture book evokes a feeling of peace as the street lamps, northern lights, and moon illuminate the snow. The illustrations are noteworthy for the way they meld the old world with what it looks like to be a modern Indigenous person: A sled dog and fur-lined parkas combine easily with the frame houses, a pickup truck, power lines, and mobile-hung crib. By introducing Indigenous characters in an unremarkably familiar setting, the book reaches children who don’t always see themselves in an everyday context.
A tender bedtime tale set in a too-seldom-seen northern world. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-77227-238-3
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Inhabit Media
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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