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IT’S USEFUL TO HAVE A DUCK

Name: IT’S USEFUL TO HAVE A DUCK
Author: Isol
ISBN: 978-0-88899-927-6

by Isol & illustrated by Isol ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2009

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Why on earth is it useful to have a duck? In a series of accordioned spreads on yellow board, a little boy reveals the answers, accompanied by swift line sketches that illustrate them: “I use him for a hat. / He can be a whistle or a straw” (here the duck and boy are depicted beak-to-lips). The work would be no more than a quaint curiosity were it not for the verso, on blue board, which is titled It’s Useful to Have a Boy, in which the identical images receive a very different gloss in the duck’s voice: “I use his head to see the view / and he gives me kisses.” Bands of yellow or blue line each fold to contrast with the primary background color and to unify the whole. Do not be deceived by the simple-looking board format: This is not for babies. Rather, it challenges children who have accepted the initial premise with developmentally appropriate narcissism to regard the world from the opposite perspective. Gently mind-bending, this playful Mexican import, packaged in a slipcase, will get readers thinking. (Novelty. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-88899-927-6

Page Count: 16

Publisher: Groundwood

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2009

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THE MENINO
by Isol ; illustrated by Isol ; translated by Elisa Amado

- BOOK REVIEW
NUMERALIA
by Jorge Luján ; illustrated by Isol ; translated by Susan Ouriou

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THE NIGHT IS YOURS

by Abdul-Razak Zachariah ; illustrated by Keturah A. Bobo ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 2, 2019

Vital messages of self-love for darker-skinned children.

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On hot summer nights, Amani’s parents permit her to go outside and play in the apartment courtyard, where the breeze is cool and her friends are waiting.

The children jump rope to the sounds of music as it floats through a neighbor’s window, gaze at stars in the night sky, and play hide-and-seek in the moonlight. It is in the moonlight that Amani and her friends are themselves found by the moon, and it illumines the many shades of their skin, which vary from light tan to deep brown. In a world where darkness often evokes ideas of evil or fear, this book is a celebration of things that are dark and beautiful—like a child’s dark skin and the night in which she plays. The lines “Show everyone else how to embrace the night like you. Teach them how to be a night-owning girl like you” are as much an appeal for her to love and appreciate her dark skin as they are the exhortation for Amani to enjoy the night. There is a sense of security that flows throughout this book. The courtyard is safe and homelike. The moon, like an additional parent, seems to be watching the children from the sky. The charming full-bleed illustrations, done in washes of mostly deep blues and greens, make this a wonderful bedtime story.

Vital messages of self-love for darker-skinned children. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: July 2, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-525-55271-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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PILLOWLAND

by Laurie Berkner ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 7, 2017

For Berkner’s fans; there are much better books about children visiting imaginative lands.

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Berkner’s children’s song gets the picture-book treatment with illustrations from Garoche.

What kid hasn’t made a massive pillow fort and imagined all sorts of adventures? Well, Berkner’s premise is that there is a land where everything is made of pillows, and three lucky children get to visit there. (They appear to be siblings, perhaps a blended family: Mom and one girl are black; Dad, one boy, and one girl are white.) The illustrations transition between depictions of obvious imaginative play in a bedroom to a fantasy world and back again at the end, when the parents peek in at the three asleep. Garoche’s art consists of photos of papercut artwork arranged in dioramas with some Photoshop details. Reminiscent of Michael Garland’s work (though more pastel in color) or that of Elly McKay (though less ethereal), the illustrations are a mixed bag, with layers and hard edges juxtaposed against all the pillows. The king and queen of the song are obviously stand-ins for the parents. Children who know the tune may not sit still for a reading, while those who don’t may wonder at the repeated refrain.

For Berkner’s fans; there are much better books about children visiting imaginative lands. (Picture book. 3-7)