An adventurous and curious musical note flutters out of a concert at Carnegie Hall to see what else might be happening in New York City.
The note discovers a Broadway jazz club and interacts with every instrument in the band, dancing and swooping through the double bass, the trumpet, the drums, the saxophone, and the trombone, partaking of joyous rhythms all through the night. In the morning it joins a guitarist in Central Park, where it brings forth more notes, then a chord, and then a song that catches the ear of a bike rider, who carries the song all through the city. Druvert employs lyrical verses in aabb rhymes, creating images that soar along with the music. Inventive, detailed illustrations in blue-gray, black, and white, along with one shining, golden trumpet, alternate with, and provide depth for, breathtaking, incredibly delicate and intricate laser-cut black pages, enriching the sweet, slight tale. In this French import, New York City is as much an important character as the musical note, with constant movement, lively nightlife, and depictions of some of its iconic buildings, water towers, street carts, fire escapes, and more. Adults will need to be the guardians of this beautiful work, carefully turning the pages with their thin, white protectors so their little ones can listen and admire and fall under its spell. An amazing, glorious experience. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-500-65173-5
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.
Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.
The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
This book sings.
Hamilton star Soo’s debut picture book centers on a young girl confronting stage fright.
Piper Chen twirls through her days with her mouth wide open. When Mr. Harris, her music teacher, asks Piper if she’d like to sing a solo in the Spring Sing, she immediately answers, “Yes!” But later, she finds herself frozen during practice. Later, Piper’s grandmother Nǎi Nai notices that Piper isn’t singing, and Piper explains about the solo and the butterflies in her stomach. Nǎi Nai understands and explains that she experienced “húdié” (Chinese for butterflies) at her first piano recital. They also visited whenever something exciting was ahead, like when she left China for America, when she graduated from music school, and when she became a U.S. citizen. “Now, when they greet me, I greet them back. ‘Hello, húdié. Nǐ hǎo.’” The night of the show, Piper feels the butterflies flapping their wings. She hums to herself, “Hello, húdié” and sings. Soo and Pasquale Doran sensitively capture the anxiety of performing and draw parallels with other life changes while giving readers a concrete tool for addressing those butterflies. Leng’s delicate, expressive ink, watercolor, and oil pastel illustrations capture Piper’s enthusiasm and uncertainty as well as Nǎi Nai’s loving warmth, working seamlessly with the text in vignettes and full spreads. Piper Chen and Nǎi Nai are Chinese American; Mr. Harris is brown-skinned.
This book sings. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780593564691
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House Studio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
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