These fairies fall flat.
Are fairy tales really as perfect as they seem?
Apparently, no. Stinson aims to reassure readers that, despite “magic dust” and happy endings, fairy tale creatures make mistakes too: “Yes, fairies fart the same as us.” In doing so, however, she makes an assumption that many readers will not share. Is farting an embarrassing indication of inadequacy, or is it just funny fodder for those with scatological senses of humor? Ultimately, these fairies don’t successfully engage either side of this debate. As a fart-humor book, it contains too few farts and too much moralizing (“Witches can be very whiny”). By creating false equivalence among a wide range of behaviors (cheating, falling, pants-wetting, bragging, and getting scared, among others), the book dilutes its effectiveness as an it’s-OK-to-be-imperfect text. The rhyme, at times grammatically awkward and trite, hobbles, with a loose regard for meter and scansion: “So if you fart or fuss or fail / or belch or beg or boast, / or think that you’re the single kid who messes up the most, / now you can remind yourself / that simply can’t be true.” Ashdown’s blend of pencil crayons, acrylic inks, and digital elements creates a colorful, textured world. Yet, the story’s heavy reliance on its white characters, with a few brown faces added in supporting roles, makes this world a little less than welcoming.
These fairies fall flat. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-243623-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
A sweet story without much else to offer.
A little boy known as the Mapmaker is stumped when a girl asks him for a special map.
Though he loves creating all kinds of maps in his treehouse office, he is perplexed by her requests that he find and map a place with warm sand and hiding spots for treasure. Her requirements become more and more abstract, and the Mapmaker has no idea what to do. But the girl, it seems, already has a plan. It is frustratingly apparent that she already knows what she wants but for some reason wishes to teach the Mapmaker a lesson. She takes him around their idyllic little town like a baby Manic Pixie Dream Girl, showing him the warm sunbeams in the library, the delicious-smelling bakery, and all the other little comforts of home. Finally, they sit down together to draw a map of their town, which is just what the girl wanted all along. Rendered in a muted palette, the art is simple and cozy. The boy has light skin and dark hair, and the girl has light skin and light hair. The book’s lesson—that we should appreciate the beauty of our own surroundings—is sweet and gentle. However, the characters lack personality, the girl in particular being just a pedagogic device, and the narrative is not especially engaging. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A sweet story without much else to offer. (author’s note, glossary, more information, activities) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-984852-30-4
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Anne Schwartz/Random
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
An endearing story conveying a satisfying sense of a job well done.
A little boy accompanies his single-parent father to his evening job as the custodian at a large middle school in this serene, evocative story.
The unnamed boy narrates the story in present tense as the pair ride together on the dad’s motorcycle over a bridge and past a bay to the empty school. At first the boy shoots baskets as his dad mops the floor of the gym, but later the child works alongside his father as they listen to a baseball game on the radio. They eat sandwiches in a courtyard together, and then the boy reads and naps on a couch in the library while his father continues cleaning. By daybreak they are back home, falling asleep snuggled up in a cozy recliner, both dreaming of riding the motorcycle together over the water of the bay. This little boy is only 5 or 6, but he’s a real help to his dad in packing up their lunch, assisting with his duties, and cleaning out their lunchbox when they return home. Hesse’s poetic, calm text is matter-of-fact in conveying the love between parent and child and the bonding occurring through their shared work. Karas’ mixed-media illustrations, employing a soft focus and a muted, nighttime palette, help to relay this bond as well as the excitement of riding on the back of a motorcycle at night. Father and son both present white, and both wear helmets.
An endearing story conveying a satisfying sense of a job well done. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6238-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
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