A riotous romp that should play to the amusement of younger readers.
A young boy who can’t help making loud noises with his nose tries to fit in with the rest of the world in Mackay’s picture book.
Nate, an upbeat and energetic kid with spiky red hair and fair skin, has an unusual nose. Though it looks ordinary, it contains a snot-covered array of tiny musical instruments that emit loud, outrageous sounds whenever he breathes. This first appears to be a gift—it makes his friends laugh and affords him a rare individuality—but it turns out to be an affliction. Nate’s family, though tolerant, are driven to despair; so, too, are his teachers and classmates. Soon, Nate is banned from going out in public. Doctors and scientists puzzle over his condition, but no one can help. Eventually, when trying out the “NOISY NOSE MACHINE” of a famous oddball inventor, Nate sneezes out his snotty schnoz orchestra…whereupon his red-haired dog Rascal scarfs it down and inherits the condition. Colvin’s illustrations are busy and boisterous, drawn in a cartoon style with plenty of space afforded to the colorful sounds of “WAH! WAH! OOM-PAH-PAH!” and “TOOT TOOT! RING! RING!” emanating from Nate’s noisy nose. Nate and Rascal display strong, class-clown personalities, dampened over time by the disapprobation of those around them (a racially diverse cast of characters). While Nate’s story may serve as a lesson in how to cope with being singled out, mostly it is fun for fun’s sake.
A riotous romp that should play to the amusement of younger readers.Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780646705323
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Jan. 7, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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