Sketchy and reductive but probably, alas, fairly valid.
An earnest message for (mostly) young readers: Adults may look grown up, but they don’t leave the children they were behind.
In block-lettered lines fitted in around the cartoon figures that populate his pages, Blackshaw casts typical adult behavior in a juvenile light with help from four grown-ups, three white people in street clothes and a black man in tight-fitting workout clothes. Superimposed within each full-color character is an interior black-and-white mini-me that mirrors every gesture and mood. When grown-ups “want a new toy,” the author explains, “they call it a gadget or say that it is something they really need.” Evidence of inner children abounds: “Nasty adults” have nasty kids inside (a secondary character whose interior child has a loaded diaper represents these unpleasant people); people in love speaking baby talk (“I wub you!” “I wub you too”); and sometimes grown-ups just have to cut loose and dance or play in some other way. He goes on to warn young readers that there will still be things that scare, annoy, or anger them when they’re older too. The author’s closing claim that inner children should be encouraged because they “make being an adult…SO MUCH FUN!” won’t lighten the gloom much for children who were actually hoping that adulthood would be better, or at least different. On the other hand, children, or anyone, puzzled by the strange things grown-ups do may appreciate the insight.
Sketchy and reductive but probably, alas, fairly valid. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-908714-68-8
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Cicada Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
Patchy work, both visually and teleologically.
The sultana of high-fructose sentimentality reminds readers that they really are all that.
Despite the title, we’re actually here for a couple of reasons. In fulsome if vague language Tillman embeds one message, that acts of kindness “may triple for days… / or set things in motion in different ways,” in a conceptually separate proposition that she summarizes thus: “perhaps you forgot— / a piece of the world that is precious and dear / would surely be missing if you weren’t here.” Her illustrations elaborate on both themes in equally abstract terms: a lad releases a red kite that ends up a sled for fox kits, while its ribbons add decorative touches to bird nests and a moose before finally being vigorously twirled by a girl and (startlingly) a pair of rearing tigers. Without transition the focus then shifts as the kite is abruptly replaced by a red ball. Both embodied metaphors, plus children and animals, gather at the end for a closing circle dance. The illustrator lavishes attention throughout on figures of children and wild animals, which are depicted with such microscopically precise realism that every fine hair and feather is visible, but she then floats them slightly above hazy, generic backdrops. The overall design likewise has a slapdash feel, as some spreads look relatively crowded with verses while others bear only a single line or phrase.
Patchy work, both visually and teleologically. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-05626-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The kitten has an argument, but readers would be hard put to find a decomposing spud with a more winning personality.
A “mutant potato” with mottled skin and mismatched eyes enters a cuteness contest.
No sooner does Rot sign up than he’s bellowing out a song in anticipation of victory—until the sight of his rival contestants, an “itty-bitty baby bunny with fluffy, floppy ears,” a “little-wittle bewitching bewhiskered cuddly kitten,” and an “eenie-weenie pink and peppy jolly jellyfish” shakes even his self-confidence. Maybe if he dons bunny ears, whiskers, or a pink tutu? No, in the end he decides to go onstage as he is, show his better side (butt crack and all), and hope for the best. And, as the judging panel turns out to be composed entirely of moldy fruits, he struts off with a huge shiny trophy. Clanton includes potato stamps among the various media he uses to create his simple cartoon illustrations, achieving compellingly scabrous looks for his main character and the judges. He also leaves it to readers to decide if the outcome is a case of cuteness being in the eye of the beholder or, as the “little-wittle,” etc., kitten mutters, evidence of a rigged competition.
The kitten has an argument, but readers would be hard put to find a decomposing spud with a more winning personality. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Dec. 19, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-6762-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2017
© 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.
