Reassuring, appealing, and endearing, especially for children in similar situations.
What makes library day so special for Luna?
It’s because her dad is waiting for her there, and together they choose all kinds of books, each one emblematic of a connection between them (bugs—she loves them, he hates them; magic—he “knows how to disappear” while “Luna wants to learn how to bring him back”; his Caribbean island home). Together Luna and her dad read The Troll King and the Mermaid Queen, which is a six-page rhymed story inset inside the book that is clearly a metaphor for Luna’s family history. When it’s time to leave, Luna checks out Unexplained Mysteries, Mini Monsters, Magic Mayhem, and Memories of the Imagined Island as well as the inset book. Now she has a book bag full of memories. Luna’s parents are clearly separated or divorced, and library day is her time with Dad. Biracial Luna has light-brown skin and curly auburn hair, her dad is black with an Afro, and her mom is white and blonde. Colorful, winsome illustrations depict Luna with dots for eyes and a curve for her mouth. This simple story of often familiar circumstances has many pluses—seemingly amicable separated parents who love their daughter, the story within a story, a plug for libraries (there’s even a self-checkout) and reading—all of which generate an upbeat feeling.
Reassuring, appealing, and endearing, especially for children in similar situations. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-61067-675-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2017
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
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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