A vivid tale of intercultural friendship and understanding.
Author and illustrator Morrill offers a picture book about a friendship between two girls—one of whom lives in a World War II-era internment camp in Arkansas.
Sachi, a youngster of Japanese heritage, and Jubie, a Black girl, are best friends. Sachi and her family live at the Rohwer Relocation Center. One afternoon, the girls’ cloud watching turns into an opportunity for Sachi to teach Jubie about her heritage. One of the clouds, for instance, looks like a kimono to Sachi, and she runs off to find one for her friend to try on. Jubie appreciates the care and tradition associated with the garment, and she learns about an upcoming celebration of Obon featuring traditional Japanese dances. As Sachi describes the dance and hums the music, they each envision their hands as butterflies; a kind of magic takes over as Jubie dances. Afterward, though, the girls come back to the stark reality of the relocation camp. Morrill’s book is based on a scene from her novel for adults, The Red Kimono (2013). Here, the author’s illustrations effectively transport readers to the story’s setting, thanks to mixed-media art featuring watercolor characters and scenery, superimposed onto historical photographs. The story includes elements of story and heritage, but endnotes skillfully expand upon it with additional information for adults and older children.
A vivid tale of intercultural friendship and understanding.Pub Date: April 24, 2025
ISBN: 9781966675068
Page Count: 31
Publisher: Solander Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Spires’ understanding of the fragility and power of the artistic impulse mixes with expert pacing and subtle...
Making things is difficult work. Readers will recognize the stages of this young heroine’s experience as she struggles to realize her vision.
First comes anticipation. The artist/engineer is spotted jauntily pulling a wagonload of junkyard treasures. Accompanied by her trusty canine companion, she begins drawing plans and building an assemblage. The narration has a breezy tone: “[S]he makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!” The colorful caricatures and creations contrast with the digital black outlines on a white background that depict an urban neighborhood. Intermittent blue-gray panels break up the white expanses on selected pages showing sequential actions. When the first piece doesn’t turn out as desired, the protagonist tries again, hoping to achieve magnificence. A model of persistence, she tries many adjustments; the vocabulary alone offers constructive behaviors: she “tinkers,” “wrenches,” “fiddles,” “examines,” “stares” and “tweaks.” Such hard work, however, combines with disappointing results, eventually leading to frustration, anger and injury. Explosive emotions are followed by defeat, portrayed with a small font and scaled-down figures. When the dog, whose expressions have humorously mirrored his owner’s through each phase, retrieves his leash, the resulting stroll serves them well. A fresh perspective brings renewed enthusiasm and—spoiler alert—a most magnificent scooter sidecar for a loyal assistant.
Spires’ understanding of the fragility and power of the artistic impulse mixes with expert pacing and subtle characterization for maximum delight. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-55453-704-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2014
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BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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