Whimsical and imaginative.
In this tale translated from Spanish, a young girl’s decision to mend holes leading to a mysterious world has unintended consequences.
Leilah is always losing her belongings—her scarf, her umbrella, her keys (three times!). Mama chides Leilah for not being more careful, but Leilah can explain. Existing alongside Leilah’s beautiful, orderly village is another, chaotic world called the Other Side. It’s an enigmatic place accessible only through dreams, with “landscapes full of knots” and bizarre creatures. Things disappear through holes to the Other Side, Leilah tells Mama, and if she could only mend them, nothing would ever disappear again. Although sewing up the holes prevents objects from falling through, Leilah also inadvertently creates a smokelike fog that stifles both worlds. Undoing her stitches, Leilah receives an unexpected gift and promises Mama to find another way to keep track of her possessions. Inspired by a traditional hand-embroidered shawl that she received on a visit to Palestine, Isol’s eye-catching, unique illustrations feature photographs of its patterns; the outward-facing side is the backdrop to Leilah’s village, while the reverse sets the scene for the Other Side. Earth-toned, woven fabrics in tans and greens sometimes serve as backgrounds but are also snipped into pieces onto which characters are drawn, providing contrast to the predominantly black and red scarf. Isol concludes this clever, playful tale with an epilogue vindicating Leilah. Characters have skin the color of the page.
Whimsical and imaginative. (author’s note) (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: June 25, 2024
ISBN: 9781592703920
Page Count: 76
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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A cheery story that “wool” likely evoke some smiles.
A “baa”-nd of pirates gets the wool pulled over their eyes.
After a treasure-hunting foray, Captain Hoof and his crew of fleecy sheep are homeward bound with a glittery bounty—the lost Golden Shears, which once belonged to the infamous Woolly Jones. Suddenly, huge waves engulf and smash their ship. They’re sheepwrecked and stranded on Foggy Island, home to none other than Woolly Jones. After nearly a month of failed attempts to get off the island, Captain Hoof decides to return the shears to their rightful owner. Trekking across the island through fog as thick and impenetrable as wool, captain and crew eventually bump into their nemesis, who snatches the shears from the captain’s hooves. Expecting dire consequences, everyone starts to flee, but things turn out wool, er, well. In a 90-degree book turn, Woolly is depicted using the shears to give himself a much-needed “woolcut.” He’s grateful for the shears—and for the company after a long, lonely spell. Captain Hoof and crew are delighted at this outcome. This is a cute tale, though the plot is a bit thin; the numerous, amusing sheep puns will appeal more to grown-ups than kids. But the digital illustrations are comical and dynamic, and the all-ovine protagonists are lively and expressive. The book contains lots of typographical creativity, including some onomatopoeic words, incorporated into the artwork, and maps in the endpapers include islands bearing funny, aptly punny names.
A cheery story that “wool” likely evoke some smiles. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: July 9, 2024
ISBN: 9780593569665
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024
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