A rather dry story with disappointing illustrations ultimately leaves readers unsatisfied.
An anthropomorphic take on a possible origin of hockey.
On a frozen Canadian pond, two ravens chip away at a block of ice. Startled by a pack of wolves, they fly away, leaving the wolves to discover the slippery pond on their own. Finding their way on the slippery surface, the wolves start their own game, pushing the ice to one another using muzzles and paws. Before long the game becomes animated, and the wolves chase one another. Eventually the ice chunk is too small for wolves’ paws and they leave, so the ravens resume their game using twigs as sticks. Domm’s straightforward text depicts these animals’ antics as part of this icy play, positing that perhaps hockey was invented by these animals. The inspiration for this tale seems to have been the fact that both ravens and wolves are playful, elucidated in the spare backmatter (though without sources). Domm’s blunt juxtaposition of apparently digitally collaged elements is often jarring, with an often disorienting flattening of perspective. The illustrations represent both wolves and ravens realistically, with no anthropomorphization of expressions or postures. They neither expand upon the text nor offer visual details to entice readers to look more closely. Nicholas Oldland’s Hockey in the Wild (2020) is a far more entertaining spin on hockey-playing animals.
A rather dry story with disappointing illustrations ultimately leaves readers unsatisfied. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-77108-941-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
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