In the second entry in this easy reader series, a younger girl named Sylvie begins studying ballet, following in the footsteps of her big sister, Bonnie. In the first of three short chapters, Little Sylvie observes Bonnie’s class, meets the teacher and gets an invitation to join a beginner’s class. In the second chapter, Sylvie’s mother gives her a “not-birthday” present of ballet gear, and in the final chapter, Sylvie attends her first ballet class and afterward plays dress-up and dances with Bonnie at home. Big sister Bonnie narrates the story in first person using short sentences and simple vocabulary. The text is centered at the bottom of each page under Ormerod’s whimsical watercolor-and-ink illustrations, with each page surrounded by a pastel ribbon border. Ormerod’s young dancers are charming in both their facial expressions and creative dance movements, and the ballet classes include boys and children of different ethnic backgrounds. Though a work with this format is clearly intended for the easy-reader shelves, preschoolers interested in ballet lessons will also enjoy Sylvie’s interest in dance. (Easy reader. 3-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-439-82282-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2008
A snappy rhyming text celebrates an extended family’s joyous gyrations to the jazz spinning on the turntable. From waking to sleep, Baby’s right in the thick of it, as siblings, grandparents and cousins move and groove: “So they BOOM-BOOM-BOOM / and they HIP-HIP-HOP / and the bouncin’ baby boogies with a BOP-BOP-BOP.” Wheeler’s verse scans beautifully and begs to be read aloud—danced to, even—making this a fine choice for preschool and kindergarten story times. Christie’s bold, double-paged gouache compositions locate this colorfully garbed, expressively hip family within an equally vibrant community. As Baby’s big dark eyes get glassy with fatigue, the party winds down. “Daddy sings blues. / Mama sings sweet. / While that snoozy-woozy baby . . . / . . . sleeps deep, deep, deep.” Exultant and infectious, from the red-and-yellow-striped endpapers to the final “OH YEAH!” (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-15-202522-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2007
Lendroth brings the right ingredients, offering a tale that challenges gender stereotypes and showcases an intergenerational...
An exuberant young girl finds her match in taiko drumming.
A whirlwind of energy, Natsumi often hears the words, “Not so fast” or “hard” or “loud” from her family. When she worries her boisterous actions always lead to mistakes, her grandfather finds the perfect outlet: taiko. On stage, Natsumi pounds the large, barrel-shaped drums—their thundering boom an extension of her enthusiastic spirit. Like Kevin Henkes with his water pistol–toting Lilly, Lendroth offers a charming character who defies traditional gender associations. However, her choice to place this modern story in a “village” is interesting. Cultural festivals such as the one she describes are experienced by Japanese-Americans today, and the United States has a thriving taiko or kumidaiko scene, yet Americans do not typically refer to their small towns or rural locations as villages. Acknowledgement that the setting is in Japan in the tale’s initial setup would have been helpful, as it establishes an entirely different lens for readers. Digital art, made to look like marker drawings, are colored in a mostly pastel palette. Unfortunately, while the artist is capable of including more interest and detail in her illustrations, as in her Five Green and Speckled Frogs (2003), she fails to give these characters and setting the specificity she gave generic animals.
Lendroth brings the right ingredients, offering a tale that challenges gender stereotypes and showcases an intergenerational bond, but overall, it’s a disappointing execution to a promising start. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 13, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-399-17090-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
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