Reverent for all its gently tweaked premise but careless with cultural markers.
In this deceptively solemn retelling of the Epiphany, the three kings not only travel with their wives to Bethlehem, but defer to their sensible suggestions for gifts.
Following a course traced by fingertip on a very generalized recurring map, Queen Hekima and King Balthazar travel from North Africa to pick up King Caspar and Queen Sophia in the Balkans and King Melchior and Queen Mingzhi in China. The party then makes its way to Bethlehem to kneel and worship at the manger—with the traditional gifts rather than, as the kings first impractically propose, a live lion, a heavy golden crown and a massive throne. Along with a tap-activated chorus of angels and occasional camel noises, snatches of “We Three Kings” and other music play in the background on short loops; touching the angel icon beside each block of text activates an even-toned audio reading. The cutout figures in Barlogh’s illustrations are dressed in richly colored if generic regional costumes. They drift or change position with a tap amid, in some scenes, tilt-sensitive showers of leaves or cherry blossoms. Handsome as it is, the art is a weak link; in one scene, book-loving Sophia points to a scroll of Latin that accompanies a picture of an infant baptism as she refers to the baby being “blessed at the Temple.”
Reverent for all its gently tweaked premise but careless with cultural markers. (iPad holiday app. 6-9)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: James Allen
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2013
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Gooney Bird Greene (with a silent E) is not your average second grader. She arrives in Mrs. Pidgeon’s class announcing: “I’m your new student and I just moved here from China. I want a desk right smack in the middle of the room, because I like to be right smack in the middle of everything.” Everything about her is unusual and mysterious—her clothes, hairstyles, even her lunches. Since the second graders have never met anyone like Gooney Bird, they want to hear more about her. Mrs. Pidgeon has been talking to the class about what makes a good story, so it stands to reason that Gooney will get her chance. She tells a series of stories that explain her name, how she came from China on a flying carpet, how she got diamond earrings at the prince’s palace, and why she was late for school (because she was directing a symphony orchestra). And her stories are “absolutely true.” Actually, they are explainable and mesh precisely with the teacher’s lesson, more important, they are a clever device that exemplify the elements of good storytelling and writing and also demonstrate how everyone can turn everyday events into stories. Savvy teachers should take note and add this to their shelf of “how a story is made” titles. Gooney Bird’s stories are printed in larger type than the narrative and the black-and-white drawings add the right touch of sauciness (only the cover is in color). A hybrid of Harriet, Blossom, and Anastasia, irrepressible Gooney Bird is that rare bird in children’s fiction: one that instantly becomes an amusing and popular favorite. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-618-23848-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Walter Lorraine/Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2002
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