With illustrations that suggest a sunny memory, Felicia's story shows the ways that she's part of a continuing cycle, rather...
A young Latina girl has an unexpected encounter while accompanying her mother to work in this bilingual picture book touching on the immigrant experience.
When Felicia arrives by bus with her mother to her housekeeping job at a beautiful gated house with a fountain in front, she's told to behave. Felicia works with her coloring book, but she's restless. "I don't really like the headscarf, nor do I really like being here. / No me gusta el pañuelo que lleva en la cabeza, tampoco me gusta mucho estar aquí," she says. Felicia begins exploring the house, finding a nursery and a set of swings. Rather than get in trouble, Felicia is joined by the homeowner, a white woman who brings lemonade and cookies. Mrs. Fitzpatrick shares with Felicia the story of her own family's journey from Ireland for a better life. "That's what your mom wants for you too. / Eso es lo que tu mamá quere para ti," she tells Felicia. She gives Felicia a bracelet; its charms appear throughout the book, separating and symbolically tying in to the English and Spanish texts. With a deft and subtle touch, author Barbieri, the daughter of Salvadoran and Nicaraguan parents, captures a small but resonant moment. The reaction of Felicia's mother, for example, rings true. She's guarded about the gift at first, an open-ended response that encourages readers to wonder why.
With illustrations that suggest a sunny memory, Felicia's story shows the ways that she's part of a continuing cycle, rather than an outsider, and does it without belaboring the point . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 31, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-55885-827-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Piñata Books/Arte Público
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2016
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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