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
Devoid of energy, but greeting-card pretty.
A candy-colored version of the classic tale completely lacks teeth and claws.
The three little pigs’ widowed mother sends them out into the world to make their way. The first, carrying his guitar on his back, begs a kind man for the straw he carries and builds himself a nice little house. The wolf comes by, the predictable conversation ensues and the piggy escapes. The second pig carries his brushes and papers, asks a kind man for some sticks and builds a place with an easel en plein air. The house has a convenient back door, so he too escapes when the wolf does his thing. The third pig, carrying his tools, is clearly into construction; his carefully built brick house (bricks a gift of a third kind man) is gorgeous. The wolf tries the chimney, is smoked out and runs away, the third pig collects his mom and siblings and they live happily ever after. Sunny colors and lots of cute details make for pleasant page-turning: Pig number two sits reading a version of Little Red Riding Hood in the last scene, possibly trying to track down the latest venue of the wolf.
Devoid of energy, but greeting-card pretty. (Picture book/fairy tale. 4-6)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4058-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2011
Even the glittery cover can’t save Cinderella and Snow White from this treatment.
Cinderella and Snow White engage in vapid correspondence.
If these two fairy-tale characters lived in modern times and wrote in the voices of preteen girls, they might sound like these letters. Given that they use phrases like “Yippee!” and “Best friends forever” and ending with a double wedding, readers’ suspension of all previous knowledge of these iconic tales is critical. Would either of these despised stepdaughters have been able to read and write? How would the letters have been delivered to different kingdoms so speedily? How would they have known about each other? Readers familiar with the traditional tales will have many arguments with the structure. (For example, Snow White would not have been invited into the cottage by a “sweet little man… to stay and be safe,” and Cinderella was never thought to be perpetually happy in her servitude.) With illustrations in a coloring-book style with dark outlines and Disney-like clothing, young readers will probably recognize all the scenes from repeated viewings of those movies. Reading more like a school assignment than a story (“Pretend Cinderella and Snow White are pen pals”), this one is only for children who love the movies and other pink princess books utterly uncritically.
Even the glittery cover can’t save Cinderella and Snow White from this treatment. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-34220-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2012
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