A dream team of talent show and tell a delightful story of summers gone by.
Kids burst out of school and into summer vacation.
Now they can play outside all day till the streetlights come on, when moms call them home. This nostalgic homage to Woodson’s childhood in her beloved Brooklyn evokes the senses: the sounds of laughter and double Dutch rhymes, the sight of sidewalk chalk and bottle cap games, and the taste of an ice cream cone with rainbow sprinkles from the ice cream truck. The refrain, “In Brooklyn / in the summer / not so long ago,” appears in text the color of summer heat: red, orange, yellow. The bell-bottom plaid pants; white, knee-high, color-ringed tube socks; and loud-and-proud Afros pinpoint this story’s ’60s or ’70s setting. The amazing diversity of the neighborhood comes through both in Espinosa’s lively, colorful retro illustrations, which depict Black, brown, and White children, and Woodson’s lyrical text, which describes kids calling “out to each other / in Spanish / in English / in Polish / in German / in Chinese.” They also get along well, with the older kids looking out for the younger ones and those with ice cream money sharing with those without “because some days the ones with no money / were us.” Espinosa depicts many characters with mouths wide open, emphasizing their unbridled delight and loudness. Author and illustrator offer a refreshing reminder of a pre-internet time when full-immersion play was the summer activity and kids took full advantage. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A dream team of talent show and tell a delightful story of summers gone by. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 10, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-399-54549-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
Despite obvious curricular connections, this one’s a miss.
Books about the USDA’s nutrition standards regarding healthy eating are universally bland. This is no exception.
When Jack (yes, that one) climbs the beanstalk to the giant’s land, instead of threatening his life, Waldorf invites Jack to have a healthy meal with him. Double-page spreads introduce the food groups—vegetable, fruit, grain, protein and dairy; huge (to Jack) labeled examples of the foods fill the pages. Zofia, Waldorf’s wife, arrives in time to share the meal with them. Only in these final few pages is the new MyPlate program introduced: “So it’s healthy to fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables?” “Right! The other half has grains and protein foods.” “Help yourself to a serving of dairy too!” Their meal ends with some suggestions for exercise (though the USDA MyPlate graphic takes away the visual of a figure climbing the food pyramid). The MyPlate image appears in the backmatter, along with a few more tips for healthy eating, a page of foods that have “empty calories” and a few exercise ideas. Leedy combines humor with (mostly) easily identifiable foods, making this a book that kids can participate in reading. But there is a strange mix of cartoon and real—Zofia’s plate contains a cartoon fruit salad and cooked crab alongside collaged-in salad and rice, and a piece of corn bread that is an odd mixture of both. The need to confine intake to one MyPlate per meal goes unsaid.
Despite obvious curricular connections, this one’s a miss. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2602-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2013
A sweet story without much else to offer.
A little boy known as the Mapmaker is stumped when a girl asks him for a special map.
Though he loves creating all kinds of maps in his treehouse office, he is perplexed by her requests that he find and map a place with warm sand and hiding spots for treasure. Her requirements become more and more abstract, and the Mapmaker has no idea what to do. But the girl, it seems, already has a plan. It is frustratingly apparent that she already knows what she wants but for some reason wishes to teach the Mapmaker a lesson. She takes him around their idyllic little town like a baby Manic Pixie Dream Girl, showing him the warm sunbeams in the library, the delicious-smelling bakery, and all the other little comforts of home. Finally, they sit down together to draw a map of their town, which is just what the girl wanted all along. Rendered in a muted palette, the art is simple and cozy. The boy has light skin and dark hair, and the girl has light skin and light hair. The book’s lesson—that we should appreciate the beauty of our own surroundings—is sweet and gentle. However, the characters lack personality, the girl in particular being just a pedagogic device, and the narrative is not especially engaging. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A sweet story without much else to offer. (author’s note, glossary, more information, activities) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-984852-30-4
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Anne Schwartz/Random
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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