It’s pretty, but it falls far short of authenticity.
A retelling of a Persian folktale substituting tigers for people.
A tiger cub lives in a stately home built by its father. In the center of the vast gardens there is a fountain that, to the surprise of the tiger cub’s friends, contains a pair of worn-out slippers. When the cub’s friends ask why the slippers are there, the tiger’s father explains that when he was younger, he and his mother were impoverished. His mother—the tiger cub’s grandmother—made the slippers for him as an act of love. As the tiger grew older, wealthier, and more successful, he was repeatedly told that his worn, old slippers were not appropriate for his new station in life. Although he agreed, no matter how many times he tried to get rid of his slippers, they always managed to find a way back to him. Eventually, the tiger’s uncle helps him find a way to keep his slippers—and his memories of his past—without sacrificing his future. Done in Brett’s signature, paneled style, the book’s illustrations, while vibrant, read more like Western picture-book illustrations than the Mughal miniature style the author claims as her inspiration. Furthermore, although they are beautifully detailed, at times, the number of panels makes the pages feel crowded. The text is well paced, but Brett’s choice to retell the folktale using animals instead of people comes across as exoticizing at a time when the current Indian government is systematically erasing Muslim, particularly Mughal, history.
It’s pretty, but it falls far short of authenticity. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-399-17074-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
An ideal choice for sharing with preschoolers and anyone else who has a soft spot for lovable but goofy dads.
Here is an unabashed celebration of dads who enthusiastically embrace their inner children. The results are endearing, sometimes embarrassing but most often hilarious.
Parker invites readers to witness the following silly behavior: “When dads don’t grow up / they understand that shopping carts are for racing… / that clothes don’t have to match… / and that pancakes weren't meant to be round.” Alley uses pen and ink, watercolors and colored pencil to show an abundance of humorous details in a series of vignettes that greatly extend the text. A stern grocery-store manager glares at dad and daughter sitting in the wreckage of their shopping-cart race; a professorial dad lectures in a mad combination of stripes, argyle and plaid. Preschoolers will see themselves and, one hopes, their fathers in the madcap situations that populate this title. Whether finding fun in popping bubble wrap, throwing stones in water, playing sports indoors or “getting their hair wet (if they still have any),” the four ethnically and occupationally diverse dads—a florist, a doctor, a businessman and a construction worker—obviously relish these experiences as much as their children do.
An ideal choice for sharing with preschoolers and anyone else who has a soft spot for lovable but goofy dads. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 15, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3717-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2012
The message is wholehearted and positive, but the cloying execution doesn’t stand out.
A parent koala encourages its child to engage in every pursuit, and so do several other animals.
The British celebrity author, host of both children’s and adult TV programs, has a very positive message to spread, but there is nothing original in the lightweight text. The many animal characters pictured in diverting, fuzzy-edged illustrations engage in various activities as the text encourages them. “You can sing! If you love to sing, sing. / Shout at the top of your lungs, or whisper soft and sweet.” On verso, a frog quartet harmonizes, while across the gutter, a lion is shown with open mouth roaring as a small bird presumably whispers. Using rhyme and alliteration but without real poetic consistency, lines such as these appear: “You can share. You can care. You can create. You can learn. / You can wonder. You can wander.” The pink flamingo creating a fantastic dessert with pineapple rings is an appealing image, and children will enjoy seeing the cuddly baby koala throughout the book as other animals step up for their showcase. The fantasy-forest setting and its animals will keep small children engaged, but the sweetness comes with a significant aftertaste of treacle. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10.5-by-19-inch double-page spreads viewed at 34.5% of actual size.)
The message is wholehearted and positive, but the cloying execution doesn’t stand out. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-18141-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
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