A fine tourist’s introduction to Rio de Janeiro with eye-catching illustrations and likable characters, despite a few flaws.
A young boy’s family goes on another travel adventure in this series installment by author Godoy and illustrator Lenormand (Mori’s Family Adventures: Brazilian Culture Exchange, 2018, etc.).
The story starts with Mori and Valencia, two African-American children, wondering where their family will travel this year. Their parents soon announce that they’ll be going on a “dream vacation” to Rio de Janeiro. Grandma joins them on the trip and keeps the kids busy on the long flight. After they arrive, they all view the city’s skyscrapers from inside their taxicab. The family goes on to see all the highlights of Rio, including Copacabana Beach, the Christ the Redeemer statue, Sugarloaf Mountain, and Tijuca Rainforest. Godoy and Lenormand cleverly work several city landmarks into the plot as Mori and Valencia chase a teddy bear stealing–monkey through the city on their last day; in this way, they very naturally introduce a number of iconic locations. Lenormand’s cartoonish illustrations show the personalities of the family members and offer realistic representations of Rio landmarks. Mori and Valencia are charming main characters, and their family members are equally enjoyable. However, Godoy’s text is uneven. At one point, the narration says that the kids will be going to Rio de Janeiro “in a few days,” but then Dad immediately says that they’re leaving “in the morning.” There are also odd tense shifts, and sometimes the dialogue feels stilted and unrealistic. However, the brightly colored illustrations of Rio, which is known for its samba parade costumes and natural beauty, and the natural charm of Mori and Valencia overcome these flaws. The story is based on the adventures of the author and her family, and she includes photos of the real-life trip at the end of the book.
A fine tourist’s introduction to Rio de Janeiro with eye-catching illustrations and likable characters, despite a few flaws.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-9994734-7-4
Page Count: -
Publisher: Black Sands Entertainment
Review Posted Online: Sept. 10, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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