An accessible call to appreciate nature.
A tree waits…and waits…for humans to pay attention in Dee’s picture book.
In the late 1700s, a sapling wants to enjoy the presence of all other living creatures. But while most animals will stop and sit with the small tree, one group will not: humans. First represented by a group of Native hunters, then by European settlers in covered wagons and Puritan home builders, the humans go about their own business, never stopping to sit with the tree. In a repeated refrain, the seeking tree asks, “Will you sit with us?” An older voice of the forest answers, “They are busy, Young One.” Each time, the tree grows more frustrated, until the forest is cleared away, first for farmland, then a city, and finally a futuristic megalopolis. In this last setting, the tree stands alone and is finally approached by a human family in space suits, who sit with the tree and gather its seeds, hopeful for the future. Dee and Oldaker create beautiful painted illustrations; the natural world’s beauty is highlighted even as it diminishes in each spread until it is overtaken. The impact of the images, and of the frustration in the seeking tree’s repeated text, ably communicates the message of how important it is to commune with the natural world.
An accessible call to appreciate nature.Pub Date: March 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781736209325
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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