Beauty will always find a way to rise from violence, but this is a reminder all readers need.
A fictionalized account of a true story, published for the 25th anniversary of the Bosnian War, in which a young boy learns the healing power of music.
Drasko and his father sell flowers in a Sarajevo marketplace. Drasko marvels at the way his father has a kind word (and sometimes even a free flower) for everyone, regardless of race, religion, scowl, or smile. But seemingly overnight, the country is suddenly at war, and Drasko’s father must go play a part. Drasko takes over the flower stand, but now people are harried and rushed. One fateful morning, a whistling sound pierces the air. The bakery in the square is bombed, and 22 innocents are killed. The next day the square is silent, until a lone man in a tuxedo carries a chair and cello to the middle of the rubble and begins to play. He does this for 22 consecutive days, one for each of the lives that were lost. McCutcheon frames this story not around the unnamed cellist but around Drasko and the welling spirit of hope that one tiny, unexpected action can inspire. Critically, he does not identify Drasko’s ethnicity or religion, emphasizing that “Serb and Croat, Muslim and Christian” are all affected. Smudged, faded backdrops highlight key moments in the framed foregrounds, with deep, jewel-toned roses standing out all the more. An included CD allows readers to hear the story narrated by the author, with an accompanying musical performance by Vedran Smailovic, the story’s cellist.
Beauty will always find a way to rise from violence, but this is a reminder all readers need. (historical note, further reading, author’s note, musical score) (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: April 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-56145-943-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Spud-tacular.
Best buds Waffle, Curly, and Sweet Potato mash an invading fleet of UFO-nion Rings in this sizzling series starter.
Leaving no possible pun unturned, Geron dishes up a tale of three yummy anthropomorphic fries who, sporting Ghostbuster-style packs filled with ketchup, mustard, and mayo, rise up in defense of Spudtown (in guess which state) when hordes of circle-shaped alien invaders descend from the skies chanting, “Onion ring to rule them all!” Hardly have the grimacing, greasy rounds been properly battered, though, than Mayor Spud is snatched by a huge and bulbous cybernetic Mothership. “Holy aioli.” Can the intrepid trio find a way to slice and dice the blooming behemoth before it escapes to “deep-fried space,” or will the whole episode end in tears? Using colors as emphatic as the frequent sound effects, Ho cranks up the temperature in simply drawn panels of fast-food action that, ultimately, hurtles headlong into a peaceable caramelization and general celebrations of both differences and three new “home fry heroes.” Readers will demand extra helpings.
Spud-tacular. (Graphic fantasy. 7-9)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781524879433
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Engaging characters and action will leave readers longing to sail onward.
A kitten’s exciting early-19th-century adventures, presented in five fast-paced chapters.
Trim, a lively, scrawny dark-gray kitten with big eyes, white feet, and a star over his chest, longs to see the world. Chasing a bee, he tumbles onto a friendly pooch, Penny, and decides he wants to be a ship’s dog, just like her. Penny states the obvious. But light-skinned Captain Flinders needs a ship’s cat, so Trim climbs his epauletted shoulder and is rowed out to the three-masted ship. There, the kitten is dive-bombed by an antagonistic parrot named Jack, who nevertheless teaches him the proper terms for his new home: bow, stern, starboard, port. Trim races easily up the mast to sit in the crow’s nest with the boyish brown-skinned ship’s artist, Will. But coming down proves difficult, until Trim does his best and succeeds. And he even finds a way to prove himself to Jack—and earn Jack’s friendship. Accurately depicting the sloop, the watercolorlike illustrations provide just enough historical detail, including the ship’s food and Flinders’ Napoleonic hat, breeches, buckled pumps, and stockings. The animals are realistic (though Jack gets a bit anthropomorphized). Most vocabulary is simple, with a couple of challenges. Tracking Trim’s exploits, readers are never bored. Backmatter explains that Trim is based on a real-life cat, born in 1799 and owned by British explorer Matthew Flinders.
Engaging characters and action will leave readers longing to sail onward. (Historical chapter book. 7-9)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9781682632901
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
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