Rejoice, gleeful mealtime fussbudgets: Too Purpley! (2010) has a sibling, and it’s called Too Pickley! This round-headed boy rejects all offered foods. A rodent companion follows him through Reidy’s pithy, energetic text, which scans and rhymes so exuberantly that it feels joyful even though it’s about revulsion. “Too wrinkly, too squishy, / too fruity, / too fishy! / Too slimy, too slurpy, / too bubbly, / too burpy!” Readers must project their own knowledge of varying textures, because Leloup’s brightly colored, flattish digital shapes don’t really convey the wrinkleyness of raisins or the sliminess of snails. But the portrayals of this boy mummified in spaghetti (“too stringy”), holding a square forkful of still-frozen peas (“too freezy”) and squinting underneath the dripping raincloud formed by the “too fizzy” seltzer explosion carry the conceptual humor. The ending’s gustatory triumph may frustrate—it’s unclear what he finally declares “So yummy!” because he’s “All done” by the time readers see it—but the verse is so satisfying that young listeners will recite along and demand seconds. Tuck in! (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59990-309-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Through quick thinking and personal sacrifice, a wise old Japanese farmer saves the people of his village from a devastating tsunami in this simple yet striking story based on Lafcadio Hearn’s “A Living God.” Ojiisan lives in a cottage on a mountain overlooking the village and sea. One day, villagers gather to celebrate the rice harvest, but Ojiisan stays home thinking “something does not feel right.” When the earth quakes and the sea darkens and runs away from the land, Ojiisan realizes a tsunami approaches. Fearing the oblivious villagers will be swept away, Ojiisan torches his rice fields to attract attention, and they respond, barely escaping the monster wave. Rendered in gouache, pastel and collage, Young’s illustrations cleverly combine natural textures, bold colors and abstract shapes to convey compelling images of chaos and disaster as the rice fields burn and the wave rushes in. In one literally breathtaking double-page spread, an enormous wall of water engulfs the teeny seacoast village. A visually powerful and dramatic tribute to one man’s willingness to sacrifice everything for others. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25006-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
Momo longed to carry the blue umbrella and wear the bright red rubber boots she had been given on her third birthday. But day after day Indian summer continued. Momo tried to tell mother she needed to carry the umbrella to nursery school because the sunshine bothered her eyes. But Mother didn't let her use the umbrella then or when she said the wind bothered her. At last, though, rain fell on the city pavements and Momo carried her umbrella and wore her red boots to school. One feels the urgency of Momo's wish. The pictures are full of the city's moods and the child's joy in a rainy day.
Pub Date: March 1, 1958
ISBN: 978-0-14-050240-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Dec. 9, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1958
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