by Joanne Liu ; illustrated by Joanne Liu ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2019
Liu transforms a mundane walk to the mailbox into an exceptionally delightful visual treat.
A young boy tasked with mailing a letter has a big adventure on his way to the mailbox in this German import.
Liu (My Museum, 2017) returns with another colorful, nearly wordless picture book about Max, a baseball-cap–clad boy with an infectious smile, perpetually open arms, and a keen eye for detail. On this early fall day, he’s off to mail a letter “all by himself” in a city lovingly depicted in full-bleed paintings composed with thick, textured brush strokes and abstracted, simplified shapes. He walks past the laundromat, pausing to watch colorful blobs swirl in the machines, then stops at a crosswalk with a group of pedestrians of diverse ages and skin tones. Almost everyone is looking at their devices, but Max and the woman next to him both gaze down at a small puddle and, with an unexpected perspective shift, readers turn the page to see their two smiling faces reflected in the puddle, which now occupies the entire spread and seems to contain a whole city in itself. The book continues to follow this formula: Pages depicting Max walking past generic city sights (an art museum, a garbage truck, a crowded intersection) are interspersed with perspective shifts that position readers either next to him or directly interacting with him as he moves observantly through the city. Charming details abound, from a subplot involving a lost dog to the white endpapers covered in blue crayonlike scribbles that seem to map Max’s rambling path. Max and his mother share the same ruddy complexions.
Liu transforms a mundane walk to the mailbox into an exceptionally delightful visual treat. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-3-7913-7377-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Prestel
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
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by Owen Hart ; illustrated by Sean Julian ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2017
Parent-child love and affection, appealingly presented, with the added attraction of the seasonal content and lack of gender...
A polar-bear parent speaks poetically of love for a child.
A genderless adult and cub travel through the landscapes of an arctic year. Each of the softly rendered double-page paintings has a very different feel and color palette as the pair go through the seasons, walking through wintry ice and snow and green summer meadows, cavorting in the blue ocean, watching whales, and playing beside musk oxen. The rhymes of the four-line stanzas are not forced, as is the case too often in picture books of this type: “When cold, winter winds / blow the leaves far and wide, / You’ll cross the great icebergs / with me by your side.” On a dark, snowy night, the loving parent says: “But for now, cuddle close / while the stars softly shine. // I’ll always be yours, / and you’ll always be mine.” As the last illustration shows the pair curled up for sleep, young listeners will be lulled to sweet dreams by the calm tenor of the pictures and the words. While far from original, this timeless theme is always in demand, and the combination of delightful illustrations and poetry that scans well make this a good choice for early-childhood classrooms, public libraries, and one-on-one home read-alouds.
Parent-child love and affection, appealingly presented, with the added attraction of the seasonal content and lack of gender restrictions. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68010-070-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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by Jennifer Ward ; illustrated by Steve Jenkins ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 18, 2014
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers.
Echoing the meter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Ward uses catchy original rhymes to describe the variety of nests birds create.
Each sweet stanza is complemented by a factual, engaging description of the nesting habits of each bird. Some of the notes are intriguing, such as the fact that the hummingbird uses flexible spider web to construct its cup-shaped nest so the nest will stretch as the chicks grow. An especially endearing nesting behavior is that of the emperor penguin, who, with unbelievable patience, incubates the egg between his tummy and his feet for up to 60 days. The author clearly feels a mission to impart her extensive knowledge of birds and bird behavior to the very young, and she’s found an appealing and attractive way to accomplish this. The simple rhymes on the left page of each spread, written from the young bird’s perspective, will appeal to younger children, and the notes on the right-hand page of each spread provide more complex factual information that will help parents answer further questions and satisfy the curiosity of older children. Jenkins’ accomplished collage illustrations of common bird species—woodpecker, hummingbird, cowbird, emperor penguin, eagle, owl, wren—as well as exotics, such as flamingoes and hornbills, are characteristically naturalistic and accurate in detail.
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers. (author’s note, further resources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2116-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
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