Preaches to the choir.
A picture-book introduction to the police.
A preface by the author/illustrator’s son Mark R. Levin, a lawyer and Fox News personality, tells readers, “My father…understands that in all walks of life, and in every profession, man’s imperfections present themselves.” But, distressed by “news reports painting police officers…in an extremely negative light,” he was stirred to create this book so that young readers might “learn to respect law and order.” After that beginning, straightforward text combines with simple, childlike illustrations to introduce various types of police officers and what they do, including traffic police, dog handlers, and state troopers. Unsurprisingly, this is an unnuanced, positive portrayal. “When a fierce hurricane hits, the police remain steadfast. Amid the rising floodwaters, they search for missing people and stranded pets.” The book does not fall into the common trap of adducing the criminality of those arrested but not yet tried—indeed, there’s just one depiction of an arrest, in the beam of light cast by a police helicopter as the text reads that its job is to “make sure all is safe in the surrounding neighborhood.” It is deeply unfortunate, however, in a book that is attempting to rehabilitate the police with young audiences, that the vast preponderance of officers depicted appear to be white (as are those they interact with). Nowhere in the book’s determined cheerleading is there room to respect the experiences of those who have lost family members and friends to the police and who themselves feel targeted.
Preaches to the choir. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-2950-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2018
Three versions of the Hansel and Gretel tale are strung together in an early-reader format. Three modern kids (the illustrations show a brown-skinned girl, a white boy and an Asian boy) go to the park, dropping popcorn along the way, which reminds them of different versions of the classic tale from Europe, Africa and Japan. Each tells the tale he or she knows from childhood. Typeface changes signal that the narrative has switched from modern time to storytelling. Light black-and-white illustrations grace each page, adding interest to the rather bland text. The hugely artificial construct of three modern children hanging around and telling fairy tales to each other is a weak one, even for an early reader. The stories themselves are an amalgam of many versions, muddying the waters for teachers trying to introduce international versions of folk and fairy tales. That one tale is from Japan and the other two are from continents confuses the matter further. Good intent, poor execution. Other titles in this new series were not seen. (Early reader. 5-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-88776-953-5
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
A small girl searches for magic across bright red and blue pages. She muses about where fantastical beings are, and as she does so, each appears on the page attempting and repeatedly failing to get the girl’s attention. Kelly chooses a rhyming text sure to engage young readers, and Collins’s illustrations do their part. When she asks, “Where is the fairy who will grant me a wish,” the fairy is shown tugging the girl’s hair. “And what happened to mermaids? Did they turn into fish?”—a mermaid swims directly under the girl’s fishing net. As the wonderings include a flying broomstick, genie and goblins, the illustrations depict the exasperated creatures collecting, following the girl across each spread in ever-more-desperate efforts to prove they exist. Bright yellow pixies cause commotion in the kitchen, and a striped pastel-purple dragon curves from the fireplace breathing golden fire. Just when the girl decides “if there ever was magic, / it’s / all / leaked / away,” she realizes that magic is her power of imagination. Make sure to experience this ebullient celebration. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4022-4270-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2010
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