A quiet friendship story reminiscent of Kevin Henkes’ Kitten’s First Full Moon (2004) but not quite so satisfying.
A lonely “little mouse” whose only friend is the moon finds a kindred spirit.
This gentle tale has a simple narrative arc. Tired of their one-sided conversations, the mouse goes in search of a place to get closer to his friend, the moon. Lost and alone in the “wild wood,” he hears a voice coming from the moon’s reflection in a pond. Under the water, a “tiny fish” also talks to the moon. Mouse and fish chat through the night, each thinking the other is the moon. When the sun rises, they see each other and realize they’ve each found a new friend. The text is straightforward and simple, with a great deal of repetition. It’s set amid pictures that tell the story more effectively than the words do. Created with pen, ink, and watercolor and enhanced digitally, most images are black and white. Occasional gray lines add perspective. The characters are washed in pale shades of orange to brown, matching the endpapers. Color (the same pale orange and brown and some green) appears when they finally meet, in daylight. Alborozo's loose pen line neatly conveys the animals’ emotions, the gnarled trees of the forest, and the vegetation around the fish's pond, but the rippled reflections in the "small, still pool" aren't very convincing.
A quiet friendship story reminiscent of Kevin Henkes’ Kitten’s First Full Moon (2004) but not quite so satisfying. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-62779-224-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance.
A boy with wings learns to be himself and inspires others like him to soar, too.
Norman, a “perfectly normal” boy, never dreamed he might grow wings. Afraid of what his parents might say, he hides his new wings under a big, stuffy coat. Although the coat hides his wings from the world, Norman no longer finds joy in bathtime, playing at the park, swimming, or birthday parties. With the gentle encouragement of his parents, who see his sadness, Norman finds the courage to come out of hiding and soar. Percival (The Magic Looking Glass, 2017, etc.) depicts Norman with light skin and dark hair. Black-and-white illustrations show his father with dark skin and hair and his mother as white. The contrast of black-and-white illustrations with splashes of bright color complements the story’s theme. While Norman tries to be “normal,” the world and people around him look black and gray, but his coat stands out in yellow. Birds pop from the page in pink, green, and blue, emphasizing the joy and beauty of flying free. The final spread, full of bright color and multiracial children in flight, sets the mood for Norman’s realization on the last page that there is “no such thing as perfectly normal,” but he can be “perfectly Norman.”
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-785-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
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