The first day of preschool can give even an elephant a case of the shim-shams, as Goodman’s little pachyderm learns. Bernard is ushered into school by his mother, father, and grandma, but surrounded as he is by kith and kin, Bernard isn’t cottoning to the experience. As mother and father oh and ah, Bernard says it’s “time to go home.” Mother, father, and grandma eagerly point out the blocks and costumes and art supplies, and Bernard disappears behind his mother’s ample posterior. Miss Brody—an Old Soul in the finest elephant tradition (if youngish and turquoise)—is Bernard’s teacher, and she gently guides him over to the fish tank to give the fish a snack. While Bernard had firmly resisted his parents’ implorings to get involved, he offers a couple of tentative “maybes” to Miss Brody, not seemingly out of need to gain her favor, but because feeding the fish takes his mind off his worries. Besides, he gets acquainted with a schoolmate at the tank and they join forces to name the fish. Bernard intones “time to go home” once more, though now he means it’s time for his parents to take a powder. Featuring purple, green, and gold elephants, Catalano’s pastels are as soft as the outcome of the story, with Bernard discovering that a friendly face and a new chum go a long way toward taking the dismay out of the new. (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-56397-958-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2001
Through quick thinking and personal sacrifice, a wise old Japanese farmer saves the people of his village from a devastating tsunami in this simple yet striking story based on Lafcadio Hearn’s “A Living God.” Ojiisan lives in a cottage on a mountain overlooking the village and sea. One day, villagers gather to celebrate the rice harvest, but Ojiisan stays home thinking “something does not feel right.” When the earth quakes and the sea darkens and runs away from the land, Ojiisan realizes a tsunami approaches. Fearing the oblivious villagers will be swept away, Ojiisan torches his rice fields to attract attention, and they respond, barely escaping the monster wave. Rendered in gouache, pastel and collage, Young’s illustrations cleverly combine natural textures, bold colors and abstract shapes to convey compelling images of chaos and disaster as the rice fields burn and the wave rushes in. In one literally breathtaking double-page spread, an enormous wall of water engulfs the teeny seacoast village. A visually powerful and dramatic tribute to one man’s willingness to sacrifice everything for others. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25006-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
Momo longed to carry the blue umbrella and wear the bright red rubber boots she had been given on her third birthday. But day after day Indian summer continued. Momo tried to tell mother she needed to carry the umbrella to nursery school because the sunshine bothered her eyes. But Mother didn't let her use the umbrella then or when she said the wind bothered her. At last, though, rain fell on the city pavements and Momo carried her umbrella and wore her red boots to school. One feels the urgency of Momo's wish. The pictures are full of the city's moods and the child's joy in a rainy day.
Pub Date: March 1, 1958
ISBN: 978-0-14-050240-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Dec. 9, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1958
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