A sunny tale for rainy days that encourages energy and hope.
A hurricane can’t dampen the spirits of a little girl and her vibrant neighborhood in this children’s book for young readers.
Martine, curly-haired and brown-skinned, is an optimistic girl, the kind who skips to school and enjoys every feature of her mostly African-American neighborhood. And who wouldn’t love it. The streets are lined with brightly painted and appealing businesses owned by friendly proprietors. But Hurricane Willis wrecks the town, leaving people gloomy. The irrepressible Martine has an idea that fills her with new energy: She greets each good-weather day by name—for example, “Hey, Lisa girl!”; “Bonjour, Penelope”; or “Ello, Jill!” Why? “People on TV named the rainy days ‘Willis.’ Well, I want to name the sunny days too,” she explains to one storekeeper. He spreads the word, which inspires the neighborhood to start rebuilding. Martine helps, and soon the area is brighter and happier than ever: “People in her community found new joy and strength in each other and themselves.” Byrd (King Penguin, 2017) presents a young heroine who fairly bursts with energy, optimism, and exuberance, exploding into exclamation points when Martine regains her optimism: “She wiggled into her school clothes! She brushed her teeth in a flash!” Martine’s spirit is echoed in the neighborhood’s pre- and post-hurricane abundance: Mr. Pip’s Bakery is full of yummy treats that smell delicious; the students at Ms. Shirley’s Music Studio sometimes spill outside with their instruments, making people dance in the streets; and Mr. Johnny’s Grocery Store has “peaches so big you needed to hold them with two hands.” Ku’s (Silly Face Castle, 2017, etc.) full-page illustrations beautifully convey Martine’s emotions and the neighborhood’s moods as well as its diversity. Given the book’s preference for optimism, it downplays the real difficulties—financial, emotional, and logistical—of recovery after a major hurricane. Everyone, it seems, can easily afford to rebuild; no one lost a prized possession, a family member, or even a pet; no one has nightmares, depression, or lasting stress. Children who are less resilient post-disaster could find it hard to relate to Martine’s buoyancy.
A sunny tale for rainy days that encourages energy and hope.Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-9997050-0-1
Page Count: 62
Publisher: Jesse B. Creative Inc.
Review Posted Online: Feb. 23, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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