An imaginative picture book about stories, endings, and creativity.
In Gatza’s picture book, a boy discovers that books have endings and learns how to keep stories going.
Lake, who has olive skin and black hair, finds an intriguing story about dragons while visiting the library. He loves dragons, and as he reads, he becomes more and more inspired by the story. When the book ends, Lake doesn’t know what to do, because he wants more narrative about the dragons. He learns from the librarian that he can’t write in the book to maintain the story’s momentum, so he and his parents leave. Lake and his mother talk about why stories end and the possibilities of new beginnings (“When the book is over, you can just close the cover and dream”). Gatza offers an engaging reflection about what happens when the books we love conclude. While there is a bit too much focus placed upon the end of the book, and on the reader’s immediate experience of the pages and the presentation of the book itself, the concept is intriguing. Lake must figure out what to do to keep the story going, which puts the early-childhood protagonist in an agentic role. The book is also humorous, both in the appealing paper cut-out illustrations (reminiscent of Eric Carle’s work) and the text. The premise and age-appropriate humor make for a fun ride for early childhood readers.
An imaginative picture book about stories, endings, and creativity.Pub Date: March 15, 2025
ISBN: 9781609644888
Page Count: 40
Publisher: BlazeVOX
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2024
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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