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 close encounter of the best kind.
Left behind when the space bus departs, a child discovers that the moon isn’t as lifeless as it looks.
While the rest of the space-suited class follows the teacher like ducklings, one laggard carrying crayons and a sketchbook sits down to draw our home planet floating overhead, falls asleep, and wakes to see the bus zooming off. The bright yellow bus, the gaggle of playful field-trippers, and even the dull gray boulders strewn over the equally dull gray lunar surface have a rounded solidity suggestive of Plasticine models in Hare’s wordless but cinematic scenes…as do the rubbery, one-eyed, dull gray creatures (think: those stress-busting dolls with ears that pop out when squeezed) that emerge from the regolith. The mutual shock lasts but a moment before the lunarians eagerly grab the proffered crayons to brighten the bland gray setting with silly designs. The creatures dive into the dust when the bus swoops back down but pop up to exchange goodbye waves with the errant child, who turns out to be an olive-skinned kid with a mop of brown hair last seen drawing one of their new friends with the one crayon—gray, of course—left in the box. Body language is expressive enough in this debut outing to make a verbal narrative superfluous.
A close encounter of the best kind. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4253-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Margaret Ferguson/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
Share at Halloween or use as an example of playing with chants and rhymes. Perhaps this title will inspire many magical...
When gloomy weather threatens the Witch Parade, young Delia tries out various spells to change the weather.
As Delia swoops in for the Halloween event, the rain is “positively pouring buckets,” so Delia brandishes her wand declaring, “It’s raining, it’s pouring, / but raindrops are BORING. / Change the rainfall on my head. / Make it CATS and DOGS instead!” Though at first they enjoy the adorable animals falling from the sky, the witches soon begin to grumble again. Delia summons further odd pairings from above, such as hats and clogs as well as bats and frogs. But nothing seems to work to keep everyone happy. Delia decides to cast one more spell—to return things to the way they were. Her chant brings back the rain, and the parade proceeds to the delight of all. “The floats began to float. The marching band learned synchronized swimming.” All is well, but the final page turn reveals a future weather conundrum. Colby’s playful spells encourage interactive participation, while repetition of key phrases adds a pleasing rhythm. Henry also gets the illustrations right, with mostly gray tones punctuated by muted greens, purples, and orange to display the kindly coven of green-skinned gals hovering on their brooms.
Share at Halloween or use as an example of playing with chants and rhymes. Perhaps this title will inspire many magical spells. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 11, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-04992-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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