by Faye Gibbons & illustrated by Ted Rand ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1996
A perky tale of a backwoods Brady Bunchstyle wedding as told by one of the young'uns. Widow Searcy has five kids and Widower Long has seven. The book opens on their wedding day; the children can't stop squabbling and wrestling long enough to let the ceremony proceed peacefully. When a swarm of angry bees arrives, the Searcy mules bolt and take off, trailing a full wagon. In the rough-and-tumble aftermath all the kids pitch in to stop the runaways, gentle the mules, and gather up the far-flung belongings. In the end, ``Mr. Long's young'uns looked at us Searcys and then at one another, and all of us began to laugh.'' The wedding takes place with them gathered together in more ways than one. Rand's watercolors are particularly fine; prettily evoking the Georgia mountains of a few decades ago and well matched to the text, they add sly humor to an already rousing tale. (Picture book. 5+)
Pub Date: March 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-688-11348-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1996
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by Mae Respicio ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 12, 2018
This delightful debut welcomes readers in like a house filled with love.
A 13-year-old biracial girl longs to build the house of her dreams.
For Lou Bulosan-Nelson, normal is her “gigantic extended family squished into Lola’s for every holiday imaginable.” She shares a bedroom with her Filipina mother, Minda—a former interior-design major and current nurse-to-be—in Lola Celina’s San Francisco home. From her deceased white father, Michael, Lou inherited “not-so-Filipino features,” his love for architecture, and some land. Lou’s quietude implies her keen eye for details, but her passion for creating with her hands resonates loudly. Pining for something to claim as her own, she plans to construct a house from the ground up. When her mom considers moving out of state for a potential job and Lou’s land is at risk of being auctioned off, Lou stays resilient, gathering support from both friends and family to make her dream a reality. Respicio authentically depicts the richness of Philippine culture, incorporating Filipino language, insights into Lou’s family history, and well-crafted descriptions of customs, such as the birdlike Tinikling dance and eating kamayan style (with one’s hands), throughout. Lou’s story gives voice to Filipino youth, addressing cultural differences, the importance of bayanihan (community), and the true meaning of home.
This delightful debut welcomes readers in like a house filled with love. (Fiction. 8-13)Pub Date: June 12, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5247-1794-0
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Wendy Lamb/Random
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
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by Andrew Clements & illustrated by R.W. Alley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 23, 2005
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
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