A seven-year-old narrates the experiences of her family of five: setting out from their home in the East (Mama cries at leaving her sisters and her piano); leading the cow behind their covered wagon; building a log cabin on the prairie; the troubles of a first year (a failed crop and the loneliness before a neighbor moves in); renewed hope in the spring. Van Leeuwen's text is quiet and undramatic, but the details are authentic and well chosen to give the immediacy of reminiscence. Allen's gentle illustrations—charcoal, pastel, and colored pencils on a soft, textured beige ground—are the more evocative for being impressionistically undefined, with faces blurred and landscapes indicated with just a few suggestive strokes and muted but precisely observed colors: the glow of a candlelit fireside, the gleam of new snow under a leaden sky. A fine prelude or companion to Wilder's books, especially the perceptive illustrations. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-8037-1027-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Inspired by the emotional barriers of humans, Kuklin’s (Harlem Nutcracker, 2001, etc.) latest photo essay focuses on the form and function of walls. The theme “We share walls” repeats throughout as photographs framed in black stand out against muted images and earth-toned blocks of color. The opening spread, for example, shows “The Algarve,” a building in southern Portugal. A deep-green wall cuts diagonally across the navy sky; a white turret punctuates the center. On the next spread, a winding wall borders a French village (“Some are / old and thick / and made / of stone”) and a glass wall rises above a New York City rooftop (“Some are / clear and thin / for the sky / to come in”). Throughout, Kuklin juxtaposes ancient (the Lascaux caves painted by Cro-Magnons) and modern (a wall in Soho, New York, decorated with a trio of images of a human form running, jumping, and leaping into the air); the ephemeral (sandcastles in Southampton, Long Island) and the seemingly rock solid (a weather worn facade of an Italian building). Some, like the colorful school yard mural in Harlem and a memorial to a departed pet are simple celebrations while others such as the Great Wall of China signify larger cultural and political themes (“Fortress — / barricade — / rampart — / fence. / a wall / can separate / a very large / space”). Large print and bold layout make for a pleasing visual presentation. Labels identify the location where each photograph was taken while an Author’s Note provides additional details. Kuklin’s thoughtful exploration of these human-made creations is sure to inspire discussion. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-399-23492-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2002
The author of the fine Shake Rag (1998), which made a picture book from the early life of Elvis Presley, takes some memories belonging to her paratrooper father-in-law, among others, and crafts a tale of D-Day for young people. When Lisette is six, German soldiers come to her lovely Normandy town. They confiscate all the goods in Monsieur Lomoine’s shop, and there is little to eat or wear. Lisette prays every night for an angel, and listens in secret to the radio that promises help soon. On the night of June 6, 1944, when her parents are tending a sick neighbor, she and her brother Emile see an angel fall from the sky. It’s a young American soldier, his silk parachute making a shimmering star over their garden. Lisette and her brother hide the soldier in the barn until the Germans pass by, and he leaves them with the parachute and precious chocolate for Emile. Lisette’s mother makes her a silk dress from the material, as shimmering as it was when it brought her and Emile their angel. The palette and textures of Ginsburg’s oils are dark and somber, perhaps a bit more so than the soaring text needs as counterpoint. It’s quite a lovely story, and the images don’t always match in intensity. The GI, however, is jaunty and young and extremely appealing. A new way to bring a bit of WWII history to the youngest of children. (author’s note) (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-8037-2435-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2002
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