A sweet celebration of intergenerational slowpokery
An unnamed little girl likes to go on long walks across the countryside with her grandmother…but Grandma, who walks with a cane, is a slowpoke.
As they set out, they hear bird song; it turns out to be cardinals, and the duo whistles back to the birds. Then Grandma stops to point out ants carrying large seeds. They spend a long time watching rabbits in the grass. When they walk on, they see brown squirrels in a tree, which makes the girl think it would be fun to live there. They see bathing ducks. They count baby geese. And they watch muskrats swim in the river until the fireflies come. When they return after dark, the girl says, “We saw so-o-o-o-o much!...It was fun being slowpokes together.” Halfmann’s nature walk from a child’s perspective is spot-on, neatly capturing the grandparent-grandchild dynamic. The accompanying animal facts at the close, several about each of the animals encountered, will interest young naturalists. Coxon’s full-bleed illustrations are more successful with the animals than the people, who look stiff and posed; the realistic animals and habitats are meticulously detailed, and the interiors of the country house are cozy. The child wears glasses; she and her family are all white.
A sweet celebration of intergenerational slowpokery . (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Feb. 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-59572-710-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Star Bright
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of...
An international story tackles a serious global issue with Reynolds’ characteristic visual whimsy.
Gie Gie—aka Princess Gie Gie—lives with her parents in Burkina Faso. In her kingdom under “the African sky, so wild and so close,” she can tame wild dogs with her song and make grass sway, but despite grand attempts, she can neither bring the water closer to home nor make it clean. French words such as “maintenant!” (now!) and “maman” (mother) and local color like the karite tree and shea nuts place the story in a French-speaking African country. Every morning, Gie Gie and her mother perch rings of cloth and large clay pots on their heads and walk miles to the nearest well to fetch murky, brown water. The story is inspired by model Georgie Badiel, who founded the Georgie Badiel Foundation to make clean water accessible to West Africans. The details in Reynolds’ expressive illustrations highlight the beauty of the West African landscape and of Princess Gie Gie, with her cornrowed and beaded hair, but will also help readers understand that everyone needs clean water—from the children of Burkina Faso to the children of Flint, Michigan.
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of potable water. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-17258-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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