by Johnny Valentine & illustrated by Angelo Lopez ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1993
While his moms chat with a friend in the park, the narrator (in spritely verse that emulates Dr. Seuss with somewhat mixed success) wanders into the zoo, where ``...I saw a tame Zark./The Zark is so rare,/They once thought it extinct./But the Zark seemed to like me./She saw me...and winked.'' After a friendly game of catch with the dinosaur-like Zark (the kid is the ball), he realizes he's lost; worse, the McFinks, who volunteer to help him find his parents, are horrified that they are both moms (``It's wrong! It's a Sin! Not at all how I think!/The only true family's a family like ours:/With a mom, and a dad, and two kids, and two cars''). The McFinks are about to force the unwilling boy on new parents when the Zark intervenes; and before he gets back to his own moms, he meets a nice couple who explain that ``real families come/In all forms and all sizes''—with plenty of diverse examples. Lopez debuts here with sunny colors and a dynamic cartoon style that helps propel the story as much as the witty, rhythmic text. An entertaining way to state a message that's more straightforwardly conveyed in photos of actual families in Aylette Jenness's Families: A Celebration of Diversity, Commitment and Love (1990). (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1993
ISBN: 1-55583-236-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Alyson
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1993
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by Janice Boland & illustrated by G. Brian Karas ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1996
A book that will make young dog-owners smile in recognition and confirm dogless readers' worst suspicions about the mayhem caused by pets, even winsome ones. Sam, who bears passing resemblance to an affable golden retriever, is praised for fetching the family newspaper, and goes on to fetch every other newspaper on the block. In the next story, only the children love Sam's swimming; he is yelled at by lifeguards and fishermen alike when he splashes through every watering hole he can find. Finally, there is woe to the entire family when Sam is bored and lonely for one long night. Boland has an essential message, captured in both both story and illustrations of this Easy-to-Read: Kids and dogs belong together, especially when it's a fun-loving canine like Sam. An appealing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8037-1530-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996
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by Carson Ellis ; illustrated by Carson Ellis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 24, 2015
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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