A little boy adjusts to changes as his beloved grandmother ages and becomes infirm.
Oscar loves his grandma, and he loves the things they do together, like riding on their scooters and playing on the seesaw. When she “doesn’t feel like playing,” they find other ways to enjoy each other’s company. But now there are many things she can no longer do, and she must move to a place where she will be cared for. Oscar, his dad and his younger sibling visit Grandma, meeting her caregivers and other residents. Sometimes Grandma shouts and gets angry when she cannot remember things, but other times she tells Oscar stories about her life. The sweet, squiggly pictures show that Grandma visited Paris, went camping and jumped out of an airplane (with a parachute but without a helmet). Oscar is clear about how the changes in Grandma upset him, but he says that friends and family take care of him and make him feel better. Notes at the end give more details about dementia. Oscar’s voice is naïve and prone to inexactitude, and the tale overall is very purposive, clearly created to help other children in Oscar’s situation. Though it lacks the artistry of Mem Fox and Julie Viva’s Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge (1989), it has a useful charm. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: July 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-84643-602-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Child's Play
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2014
It’s good fun to see this vigorous, involved Grandma leading the fishing expedition.
An Inuit brother and sister learn to jig for fish with their anaanatsiaq.
The older brother narrates the plainly told story as he and Jeela, his younger sister, encourage their grandma to take them on “an adventure.” Their jolly “favorite elder” readily agrees and tells them about the layered clothing they will need. She gathers the tools for ice-fishing, and they all get into the large ATV for the ride to the lake. Along the way, they pass a dog sled and some inuksuit (stone markers). The entire process is carefully described, from testing the ice with a metal probe to making the hole with the tuuq (a chisel), removing the pieces of ice from the hole with an ice skimmer (a large spoon with holes), and tying the shiny colorful lures to fishing line attached to flat wooden planks, or jigging sticks. The digital pictures have an animation aesthetic and show a happy family of contemporary Inuit practicing a skill used by their ancestors. The children share their catch with many elders in the community who can no longer fish. Nothing dramatic happens, and Grandma gets a little preachy (“It is important to learn traditional skills and know how to be prepared”), but it’s clear this trio has had a splendid time.
It’s good fun to see this vigorous, involved Grandma leading the fishing expedition. (list of tools, glossary) (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: June 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77227-084-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Inhabit Media
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
A good book for hatching new readers.
A playful porcupine kit ends up having ducklings imprint on him after their mother asks him to sit on her clutch of eggs.
At first it’s not Pip who sits but his mother. While she contentedly reads her book beneath a tree, “Pip goes up. He jumps. He plops. He peeks,” and accompanying vignettes show the little overalls-clad porcupine frolicking across the double-page spread. His activities come to a halt when a rather feckless Mother Duck takes a page from Dr. Seuss’ Mayzie and leaves Pip to sit on her eggs. And, like Horton before him, sit Pip does until the eggs hatch and the ducklings emerge, all calling him Mama. Firmly imprinted on Pip, they initially reject Mother Duck when she returns, until she leads them to the water to swim. At this point, Pip (who does not like water) misses his mother, and her arrival by Pip’s side creates a happy ending for ducks and porcupines alike. Morgan’s accompanying watercolor, gouache, and colored-pencil illustrations provide good support to help emergent readers decode the controlled text, and there’s a good balance of white space on some spreads to give rest to the eyes.
A good book for hatching new readers. (Early reader. 5-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3676-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 31, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
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