Inspired and sensitive storytelling that will help little ones make sense of a potentially disturbing topic.
Two siblings must learn to be fierce in the face of a frightening new foe.
A boy and his little sibling (who narrates this story) love pretending to be lions—they roar and hunt and stalk the savanna. Until one day, big brother lion does not feel well and has to go to the doctor. Big brother must go to the hospital, where he looks like a caged lion surrounded by tubes and equipment. His mane begins to fall out, and he misses his pride. Playing at being lions helps the younger sibling grapple with their elder brother’s serious illness as patients in hospital hallways are, through the magic of imagination, transformed into the beasts of sub-Saharan Africa. In Lucander’s chaotic illustrations, dramatic overhead angles brilliantly evoke the turmoil this family confronts; in many scenes, objects are askew, and the parents look drawn and worried. Collage art brings to life the siblings’ vivid imagination as they race into the savanna to escape their troubles. Unsentimental yet brimming with emotion, Mattsson’s matter-of-fact text, translated from Swedish, makes the idea of childhood illness somehow more comprehensible to both adults and kids. While the story ends with the older sibling still sick in bed, it ends on a note of hope: “Soon we’ll go hunting again.” The siblings and their father are tan-skinned; their mother is lighter-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Inspired and sensitive storytelling that will help little ones make sense of a potentially disturbing topic. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781773067018
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child...
Imani endures the insults heaped upon her by the other village children, but she never gives up her dreams.
The Masai girl is tiny compared to the other children, but she is full of imagination and perseverance. Luckily, she has a mother who believes in her and tells her stories that will fuel that imagination. Mama tells her about the moon goddess, Olapa, who wins over the sun god. She tells Imani about Anansi, the trickster spider who vanquishes a larger snake. (Troublingly, the fact that Anansi is a West African figure, not of the Masai, goes unaddressed in both text and author’s note.) Inspired, the tiny girl tries to find new ways to achieve her dream: to touch the moon. One day, after crashing to the ground yet again when her leafy wings fail, she is ready to forget her hopes. That night, she witnesses the adumu, the special warriors’ jumping dance. Imani wakes the next morning, determined to jump to the moon. After jumping all day, she reaches the moon, meets Olapa and receives a special present from the goddess, a small moon rock. Now she becomes the storyteller when she relates her adventure to Mama. The watercolor-and-graphite illustrations have been enhanced digitally, and the night scenes of storytelling and fantasy with their glowing stars and moons have a more powerful impact than the daytime scenes, with their blander colors.
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child to be admired. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-934133-57-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Mackinac Island Press
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
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