Just the thing to get young wordsmiths picking up their frindles—or whatever they might want to call their pens.
A playful answer to the titular question—ending with an invitation.
Words are everywhere, Zwiers writes, and they don’t come from “Wordshops” (where a Black-presenting worker might chisel away at new ones) or “Wordfarms” (where a figure with ghostly white hands harvests them), or even over “Worderfalls” (where they tumble over a psychedelic landscape with words embedded as the objects they represent). They come from people who make them up and use them…and so, why not “find or do something that has never had a name before” and invent one? Working under the name of his design studio, Spanish illustrator Javier Ramirez blows this terse but enticing message up into a series of riotous, logorrheic scenes in which many of the blocky figures—from buildings to butterflies, pastries to lightning bolts—contain or are even constructed from block letters. In earnest of the idea that words are everyone’s common property, he goes on to fill a pair of penultimate spreads with, first, a swirl of hands making the manual alphabet and then a barrage of given names…almost all in roman typefaces but reflecting a multicultural array of origins. Picture-book shelves are well stocked with expressions of the joy of learning new words; not so (or so much) the pleasures of creating them. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11.375-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 70% of actual size.)
Just the thing to get young wordsmiths picking up their frindles—or whatever they might want to call their pens. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4788-7404-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Reycraft Books
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
Dog lovers and young Dr. Moreaus alike will guffaw.
Split pages allow mixing and matching sections of 10 purebred canines.
Forget cockapoos and labradoodles—flipping the three segments here back and forth makes for some truly unlikely hybrids: “I’m a Bulldog— / Yorkshire Terrier— / Great Dane mix”; “I’m a Komondor— / Greyhound— / Poodle mix”; “I’m a Dachshund— / Shar-Pei— / Dalmatian mix.” Ball (Flip-O-Storic, 2011) cranks up the drollery with a set of big, handsome pooches drawn and colored to set off their distinctive characteristics, posed naturalistically against plain yellow backgrounds, and looking up or out with doggy devotion. She also adds the occasional tail-pulling puppy, silly hat, or other comical side business. In addition to the identifying captions, Garczynski contributes a table of descriptive information about each breed at the beginning. This includes to-scale silhouettes that are helpful since all of the interior dogs are rendered the same size so that the transitions more or less match up. (Although the Yorkie’s stubby forelegs still make a peculiar mismatch with the lanky hind limbs of the Great Dane.) Also, each sturdy strip features a “personal” observation, such as the Dalmatian’s “I’m known for my distinctive spots. If I open my mouth, you’ll even see spots in there.” Aside from the note of condescension in the Shar-Pei’s claim that its tongue “was once thought to ward off evil spirits,” these last are at least innocuous and sometimes informative.
Dog lovers and young Dr. Moreaus alike will guffaw. (Novelty picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 9, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7892-1310-5
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Abbeville Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
After a promising start, this autumnal offering ultimately disappoints.
Change is on the horizon for a trio of leaves at home in the branches of various trees in a park.
When the air grows chilly, Birch, Oak, and Maple all experience different emotions. Birch is optimistic and expectant, Oak is cautious and reluctant, and obstinate Maple feels left out as the other leaves change colors but she doesn’t. Illustrations rendered in acrylic gouache, colored pencil, and collage depict endearingly anthropomorphized leaves, with autumnal colors that pop. As the leaves learn more about fall from a pair of knowledgeable squirrels, Maple’s slow change to red is overshadowed by her impatience to join her friends. It’s only when she pulls herself free that she learns about the downside of fall—namely, the bottoms of boots, rain gutters, and rakes. Much like the shift from the bright crisp early days of autumn to the damp cold ones later in the season, it’s here that the story changes, going from a surprisingly nuanced examination of growth to something fluffy and less interesting. A young girl with straight black hair and tan skin finds the fallen leaves and takes them home, where she draws them as anthropomorphic characters, and all discussion of the importance of change is lost. Caregivers looking for a springboard to a discussion about growing up and the uncertainty of change may find this useful, but its sputtering ending detracts from its early momentum. Maybe next year will bring a more promising crop of leaves. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
After a promising start, this autumnal offering ultimately disappoints. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-358-41945-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
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