Like the flimsy bird costume, this story flops to the ground due to lack of real substance.
The age-old theme of unrequited love is told in this monochromatic minimalist rendering of the story of an unnamed boy who creates a bird costume and wears it all day in order to attract the attention of a young girl, with whom he is hopelessly in love.
The boy tells how he draws pictures of Sylvia, including “one with hearts and a smiling sun.” Confusingly, these pictures are not shown, only sequences in the construction of a whole-body bird costume. The reason for this unfolds elliptically. Sylvia loves birds and “gently cares for them when they are injured.” She is shown holding a bird amid a collage of engravings of different kinds of birds, not identified by species. Although she is described as having “birds on her pants and dresses” and wearing “bird barrettes in her hair,” she is not illustrated with any of these attributes, just as a simply drawn figure watching a bird through binoculars. In spite of the challenges and mocking from classmates, the boy wears the costume built in the opening pages all day at school, drawing warmth and courage from the disguise. His strategy is implausibly rewarded with a romantic embrace from Sylvia. Guridi’s line drawings appear on buff-colored backgrounds; both Sylvia and the narrator appear to be fair-haired and -skinned.
Like the flimsy bird costume, this story flops to the ground due to lack of real substance. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77138-621-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A disappointing follow-up.
Inventor Izzy Gizmo is back in this sequel to her eponymous debut (2017).
While busily inventing one day, Izzy receives an invitation from the Genius Guild to their annual convention. Though Izzy’s “inventions…don’t always work,” Grandpa (apparently her sole caregiver) encourages her to go. The next day they undertake a long journey “over fields, hills, and waves” and “mile after mile” to isolated Technoff Isle. There, Izzy finds she must compete against four other kids to create the most impressive machine. The colorful, detail-rich illustrations chronicle how poor Izzy is thwarted at every turn by Abi von Lavish, a Veruca Salt–esque character who takes all the supplies for herself. But when Abi abandons her project, Izzy salvages the pieces and decides to take Grandpa’s advice to create a machine that “can really be put to good use.” A frustrated Izzy’s impatience with a friend almost foils her chance at the prize, but all’s well that ends well. There’s much to like: Brown-skinned inventor girl Izzy is an appealing character, it’s great to see a nurturing brown-skinned male caregiver, the idea of an “Invention Convention” is fun, and a sustainable-energy invention is laudable. However, these elements don’t make up for rhymes that often feel forced and a lackluster story.
A disappointing follow-up. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68263-164-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
A valuable asset to the library of a child who experiences anxiety and a great book to get children talking about their...
Ruby is an adventurous and happy child until the day she discovers a Worry.
Ruby barely sees the Worry—depicted as a blob of yellow with a frowny unibrow—at first, but as it hovers, the more she notices it and the larger it grows. The longer Ruby is affected by this Worry, the fewer colors appear on the page. Though she tries not to pay attention to the Worry, which no one else can see, ignoring it prevents her from enjoying the things that she once loved. Her constant anxiety about the Worry causes the bright yellow blob to crowd Ruby’s everyday life, which by this point is nearly all washes of gray and white. But at the playground, Ruby sees a boy sitting on a bench with a growing sky-blue Worry of his own. When she invites the boy to talk, his Worry begins to shrink—and when Ruby talks about her own Worry, it also grows smaller. By the book’s conclusion, Ruby learns to control her Worry by talking about what worries her, a priceless lesson for any child—or adult—conveyed in a beautifully child-friendly manner. Ruby presents black, with hair in cornrows and two big afro-puff pigtails, while the boy has pale skin and spiky black hair.
A valuable asset to the library of a child who experiences anxiety and a great book to get children talking about their feelings (. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0237-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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