A little boy longs for the flavors of home—and finds his wish fulfilled—in Ahvander’s debut effort. “[Grandma] always had something good to eat when Stefan and his brother came to visit: meatballs or homemade strawberry jam or Swedish pancakes,” Ahvander writes. “Stefan liked them all—most of all the pancakes.” But when Stefan moves to the Middle East, he misses his grandmother and her special treats. Lepp’s delicately drawn watercolor and pen-and-ink vignettes picture the a-ha moment as Stefan surmises a way to import pancakes using an oversized bakery box. Eschewing the postal system, Grandma and Stefan opt for the airways. First, Stefan sends his aunt back to Sweden with the box. Then a convoluted scheme finds Grandma placing an ad in the paper, meeting a stranger in the airport, and handing over the sealed box so that the man can carry it on the plane. Not the most realistic scenario, considering airport security protocol. Nevertheless, Ahvander’s sentimental tale will ring true for any child who has ever been far from the familiar. Similarly, the bond between the child and his grandmother has intergenerational appeal. Teachers and librarians wishing to familiarize children with the Middle East will find this a useful starting place. The winner of the publisher’s first manuscript competition, the work was originally published in Sweden last year. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2002
ISBN: 91-29-65652-4
Page Count: 28
Publisher: R&S/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2002
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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