Multigenerational mess makers will delight in this little book and the messes it encourages
This petite publication takes mud pies seriously.
A 5-inches square book, reminiscent of Beatrix Potter’s “little books for little hands,” this guide for making mud pies feels as handmade as the pies in it. The book’s dominant color, the greenish-brown of mud, permeates the pages, heavy stock that not even muddy fingers will rip. Several elements give the (correct) impression that the artists made the book while constructing mud pies: its hand-lettered, penned text, pages on which colors have bled onto unillustrated parts of the paper, and penciled outlines that did not get completely erased in the final draft and so still appear faintly behind the finished images and words. The fine print reveals the reason for this handmade feel: “Lois Long and John Cage” (who died in 1992 and 2005, respectively) “created the original Mud Book on a kitchen table with newspaper, mud, and dandelion blossoms.” Young readers will enjoy this title’s cookbook format, complete with two recipes and troubleshooting instructions if the cook finds the mud too runny or too solid for making proper pies. A reissue of the limited-edition 1983 publication, this picture book by a world-class musician and a textile artist will find as eager an audience now as it did in the 1980s—though happily, a much larger one as well.
Multigenerational mess makers will delight in this little book and the messes it encourages . (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-61689-552-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 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
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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