While there’s no plot to speak of, this engaging tale paints a kid-friendly portrait of the joys of life on the Thames.
A rhyming debut picture book explores the average day of a cat who lives on a boat in London.
Fernando, whose paws have “thumbs,” is a black barge cat. He lives on a sailboat sporting bright red sails that travels up and down the Thames River. Mangal (Seed School, 2018, etc.) populates the illustrations’ backgrounds with British icons, such as the London Bridge, giving a condensed sense of place. Though notes at the end reveal that Thames barges like Fernando’s are no longer used for cargo, the cat’s boat carries sugar, coal, and hay upriver. A bearded skipper and a younger-looking mate, both white, offer Fernando scraps of traditional foods like pie and mash. Sometimes the feline lies in the sun; other times, he climbs up to the topsail. Peppered with terms that will give young readers a taste of a nautical vocabulary (hold, leeboards, forestay, bob), Samuels’ rhyming text is short and accessible, with the delightful cartoon images providing the necessary clues for unfamiliar words. Green-eyed Fernando is a charmer, and kids are likely to wonder when they can go sailing on a ship like the cat’s. A diagram of the boat serves as a coloring page at the book’s end.
While there’s no plot to speak of, this engaging tale paints a kid-friendly portrait of the joys of life on the Thames.Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5255-3110-1
Page Count: 28
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More gift book than storybook, this is a meaningful addition to nursery bookshelves
A young child explores the unlimited potential inherent in all humans.
“Have you ever wondered why you are here?” asks the second-person narration. There is no one like you. Maybe you’re here to make a difference with your uniqueness; maybe you will speak for those who can’t or use your gifts to shine a light into the darkness. The no-frills, unrhymed narrative encourages readers to follow their hearts and tap into their limitless potential to be anything and do anything. The precisely inked and colored artwork plays with perspective from the first double-page spread, in which the child contemplates a mountain (or maybe an iceberg) in their hands. Later, they stand on a ladder to place white spots on tall, red mushrooms. The oversized flora and fauna seem to symbolize the presumptively insurmountable, reinforcing the book’s message that anything is possible. This quiet read, with its sophisticated central question, encourages children to reach for their untapped potential while reminding them it won’t be easy—they will make messes and mistakes—but the magic within can help overcome falls and failures. It’s unlikely that members of the intended audience have begun to wonder about their life’s purpose, but this life-affirming mood piece has honorable intentions. The child, accompanied by an adorable piglet and sporting overalls and a bird-beaked cap made of leaves, presents white.
More gift book than storybook, this is a meaningful addition to nursery bookshelves . (Picture book. 2-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-946873-75-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: May 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
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