Look, indeed! An energetic invitation to the joys of books.
Even an ape knows books can be better than TV.
An inquisitive ape finds a book. Not knowing what it is, he puts it on his head and tries to attract the attention of a boy watching TV. “Look,” says the ape. The boy ignores him. The ape tries balancing the book on his nose, saying “Look. Look.” The boy brushes him aside, telling him to “Look out.” The ape keeps trying, but when he nearly knocks over the boy’s TV, he triggers a curt “Out.” Shortly, he returns, riding a tricycle and juggling several books. Seven iterations of “Look” are scrawled in what looks like crayon across the page. “Look out!”—there goes the TV. “Out! Out! Out!” goes the ape. TV broken, the boy starts reading one of the fallen books. “Look,” he says, calling the ape back: It’s the tale of a boy and an ape in the jungle! Mack skillfully uses two words and their various meanings, integrating them with the digitally manipulated mixed-media illustrations to tell his tale. Bright, mostly monochrome page backgrounds evoke clothbound book covers and distressed old pages; minimal set dressing (a door, a stool, the TV) keeps the focus on the zany interaction. The personalities and emotions of the chunky, fluffy ape and the TV-entranced boy nearly vibrate off the page.
Look, indeed! An energetic invitation to the joys of books. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: April 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-399-16205-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2015
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance.
A boy with wings learns to be himself and inspires others like him to soar, too.
Norman, a “perfectly normal” boy, never dreamed he might grow wings. Afraid of what his parents might say, he hides his new wings under a big, stuffy coat. Although the coat hides his wings from the world, Norman no longer finds joy in bathtime, playing at the park, swimming, or birthday parties. With the gentle encouragement of his parents, who see his sadness, Norman finds the courage to come out of hiding and soar. Percival (The Magic Looking Glass, 2017, etc.) depicts Norman with light skin and dark hair. Black-and-white illustrations show his father with dark skin and hair and his mother as white. The contrast of black-and-white illustrations with splashes of bright color complements the story’s theme. While Norman tries to be “normal,” the world and people around him look black and gray, but his coat stands out in yellow. Birds pop from the page in pink, green, and blue, emphasizing the joy and beauty of flying free. The final spread, full of bright color and multiracial children in flight, sets the mood for Norman’s realization on the last page that there is “no such thing as perfectly normal,” but he can be “perfectly Norman.”
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-785-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
An A+ for Little E and his creator.
A petite excavator named Little E finds his place among a crew of full-sized, heavy-construction equipment working together to build a park.
The anthropomorphic Little E, with bright, friendly eyes and a cheery smile, invites readers into the story on the large-format cover. He is followed by a brown-and-white–spotted dog, which appears throughout the story as a friend to Little E. The construction vehicles arrive at an abandoned lot and begin working together to transform the property into a park. The rollicking, rhyming text names each type of rig and its function, including lots of sound effects and action verbs set in display type integrated into the illustrations: “Pusha-pusha smusha-smusha SMASH SMASH SMASH!” Little E tries to help with each step, but he is either too small or not strong enough for the task at hand. The last step of the park-construction project is the planting of a tree on an island reached by a bridge, but all the big rigs are too large to safely cross the wooden bridge. In a pitch-perfect conclusion, Little E is just the right size for the job. Dewdney, the late author/illustrator of the Llama Llama series, has constructed a solid winner for one of her final books, with an appealing main character, vibrant illustrations with varying perspectives, and an action-packed, rhyming text with sound effects just begging to be read aloud with dramatic effect.
An A+ for Little E and his creator. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: June 6, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-99920-2
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
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