Charming and quiet, an invitation to children to stop and really regard art.
Can the admiration and touch of a young boy bring a large sculpture to life?
Leo is such a boy. When he visits the museum, he is fascinated with the huge white bear statue named Pompon, which stands proudly and majestically on a pedestal. “For a long time, he studied the arch of Pompon’s legs which were as tall as a gate. / He imagined sliding down Pompon’s back, as if on a sled.” Leo’s examination extends over several deliberate page turns, amplifying his fascination. Leo can’t resist—he stretches out his hand and strokes Pompon’s white cheek, which is “forbidden.” Even though a museum guard scolds Leo, the transformation has begun. Something magical has happened: Pompon flies away (the illustration suggests he becomes a constellation), and his twin brother stands in his place in the museum. It’s the illustrations here that breathe life into this story, which is based on a real sculpture by François Pompon (1855-1933). The oversized images of the bear run off the pages’ edges and convey its size next to Leo. Effective page composition and perspective create an air of magic. Leo, a white boy, sports short pants, white knee socks, and a red muffler (seen on Pompon on the appealing cover). The backmatter offers a brief bio of Pompon along with an author’s note and a timeline.
Charming and quiet, an invitation to children to stop and really regard art. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-988-8341-43-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The Cinderella-like orphan is grudgingly taken in by her mean aunt and uncle, but she is denied adequate food and forced to...
With elements reminiscent of many different stories, this original tale features a beloved young girl named Chandra (moon in Hindi) who loses her parents in a terrible flood during monsoon season.
The Cinderella-like orphan is grudgingly taken in by her mean aunt and uncle, but she is denied adequate food and forced to work hard. Her only pleasure is playing her mother’s flute, put into her hands as her parents saved her from the raging river, but her cruel relatives take the little instrument. Chandra, who never loses hope, hears the flute and begins to find a daily meal of rice, lentils and eggplant. As everyone else starves during the drought-ridden season, she is accused of using “unholy magic,” and her uncle purposely pushes her into the next monsoon’s floodwaters. Miraculously, the flute sounds again, and the girl follows its sound until a rope pulls her to safety and into the hearts of a new set of loving parents. The dramatic illustrations create a strong, rural south Indian setting, with their quick black lines, almost-solid black bodies and bold use of red and blue, with just a hint of yellow for the moon. A traditional tale’s comeuppance for (and possible forgiveness of) the evil relatives is missing here, though, resulting in a narrative that feels incomplete.Pub Date: Feb. 15, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-896580-57-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tradewind Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Share with your kid, or lay it on a new grad or parental unit for some literary feel-good action.
An earnest invitation to dream big, dude, and then bigger yet.
Self-published in 2009 and gone viral in both print and free online versions, Clayton’s inspirational litany decries “un-fantastical and practical” dreams in favor of those “that no one thought to wonder / dreams so big that they’ve got dreams and they’ve got dreams up under!” His hand lettered, all-uppercase lines caption equally emphatic full-bleed cartoon scenes that contrast views of slump-shouldered, Roz Chast–style underachievers with dizzying retro sprays of surreal exuberance. The art sometimes undermines the message—dreams that “scream,” “sing” and “shout,” for instance, are all represented by similarly bellowing monsters, while the supposedly drab dream of “buying a new hat” is expressed visually with a wild, full-page blizzard of different kinds of headgear. Moreover, the metrics are clumsy at best (“…remember what I said / ‘Close your eyes my child / and dream / that perfect dream / inside your head’ ”), and those reading it aloud will have a very difficult time navigating the almost punctuation-free text. Nevertheless, it’s a worthy effort to prod children (and adults, for that matter) out of mental ruts. Or at least crank their aspirations up a notch.
Share with your kid, or lay it on a new grad or parental unit for some literary feel-good action. (Picture book. 6-8, adult)Pub Date: April 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-211468-6
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2012
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
