Vibrant collages and a fun style make this book a treat to read.
Gaily Told Tales and Storytella’s debut picture book is about what it means to be part of a family, with particular appeal for adopted children.
Paloma, who’s black, knows she is “posilutely” like her parents, who happen to be white. She tells readers about her parents, her cat, Cluck, and her bossy brother. Every Friday, the family goes out for ice cream, but one Friday, Paloma does something not befitting her parents: She flies away to try out a different family. She flies from one family to another, experiencing life in a pirate family and a superhero family, among others. Her travels then take her to a family whose skin color and hair are just like hers. She learns from this family, her birth family, that they were not able to care for her; that’s why she has a different family. When she returns home, she’s upset because she realizes that her mother’s fair hair and skin mean that they are not “posilutely” alike. Her mother reassures her that this is true: Because Paloma is unique, she can’t be exactly like anyone else. Children and adults will appreciate Paloma’s journey and her good-hearted concern about family. Bright and engaging mixed-media collage illustrations accompany and complement the text, with some Spanish words and phrases sprinkled throughout: “And then Paloma fell / Boom! / inside of, / en el medio de, / right into la casa, / the house.” (A book-ending glossary explains.) The notes that precede the text will aid adults who wish to use the book as a discussion starter. Perhaps due to printing irregularities, Paloma’s skin tone seems much lighter at the beginning of the book than toward the end, which might confuse young readers/listeners or at least lead to a question or two.
Vibrant collages and a fun style make this book a treat to read.Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2014
ISBN: 978-0692305621
Page Count: 50
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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