Quirky, earnest—and sweet, indeed.
When two creatures meet, the language skills of one enhance both their lives.
Creature-Of-No-Words—a large, orange being—lacks the words to articulate his experiences. But silence isn’t problematic when Creature-Of-No-Words is gazing peacefully out to sea or happily flinging pebbles skyward. Whether eating something yummy or warming himself by a fire, he seems self-sufficient despite his wordlessness. Yet at other times, he becomes deeply despondent. He thumps his chest, emits “a deep-down belly groan,” and cries. On one such day, the smaller Creature-Of-Words happens by. She knows how to name her moods, that something delicious is a “Treat! Treat!”—and that this big, sad creature needs a “Hug! Hug!” Award-winning poet Agard’s pithy triplets are laced with occasional rhymes. Kitamura’s illustrations, filled with all-over patterns for orange fur, tree bark, and greenery, reinforce Agard’s suggestion that Creature-Of-Words introduces not only language, but civilization. “From that day the two of them lived / together in a house where words also lived, / which was all well and good.” The duo are now silhouetted inside a conventional home (not the male’s previous cave), with word bubbles drifting from the chimney like balloons. The pair’s respective companions—birds and small mammals—form harmonious bonds, too. When enough has been said, all enjoy the “sweet silence” of a “no-words night beside the fire.”
Quirky, earnest—and sweet, indeed. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781915252470
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scallywag Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This warm family story is a splendid showcase for the combined talents of Medina, a Pura Belpré award winner, and Dominguez,...
Abuela is coming to stay with Mia and her parents. But how will they communicate if Mia speaks little Spanish and Abuela, little English? Could it be that a parrot named Mango is the solution?
The measured, evocative text describes how Mia’s español is not good enough to tell Abuela the things a grandmother should know. And Abuela’s English is too poquito to tell Mia all the stories a granddaughter wants to hear. Mia sets out to teach her Abuela English. A red feather Abuela has brought with her to remind her of a wild parrot that roosted in her mango trees back home gives Mia an idea. She and her mother buy a parrot they name Mango. And as Abuela and Mia teach Mango, and each other, to speak both Spanish and English, their “mouths [fill] with things to say.” The accompanying illustrations are charmingly executed in ink, gouache, and marker, “with a sprinkling of digital magic.” They depict a cheery urban neighborhood and a comfortable, small apartment. Readers from multigenerational immigrant families will recognize the all-too-familiar language barrier. They will also cheer for the warm and loving relationship between Abuela and Mia, which is evident in both text and illustrations even as the characters struggle to understand each other. A Spanish-language edition, Mango, Abuela, y yo, gracefully translated by Teresa Mlawer, publishes simultaneously.
This warm family story is a splendid showcase for the combined talents of Medina, a Pura Belpré award winner, and Dominguez, an honoree. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6900-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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