A fun-filled fractured-fairy-tale frolic.
Fairy-tale and nursery-rhyme characters work together to solve a mystery of disappearing belongings and missing children.
The story’s clever concept references that famous Old Woman who lived in a shoe, but here the woman lives in a book-shaped house on a bookshelf along with many other well-known children’s-story characters such as Jack and Jill and the Three Bears. The Old Woman is actually a busy mother of six with springy, gray hair and a lively demeanor. When she discovers her children are missing, she visits the other book houses on the shelf to ask for help. Each of the characters is missing something, and they all follow along as a group to search for their items and the children. The Big Bad Wolf is the culprit, predictably, and the children are found hiding from him in the branches of surrounding trees along with their father, the Old Man of “knick-knack paddywhack” fame. The characters celebrate at a concluding party with treats provided by the Wicked Witch from her candy-covered cottage. Bright, cartoon-style illustrations are filled with amusing details from all the nursery-rhyme and fairy-tale settings. Though the buoyant illustrations and plot move along in a sprightly fashion, however, the dialogue (conveyed in speech bubbles) is rather pedestrian. The Old Woman and her children present white; some of the other human characters seem to be diverse.
A fun-filled fractured-fairy-tale frolic. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-316-49305-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A testament to the universality of love.
An expanded explanation of love in both English and Spanish.
Several animal personalities pose the question, “What is love?” and in a series of lift-the-flap responses present various emotional scenarios. Little Elephant asks Spider, “Is it the joy of having you around?” Spider asks, “Is it the way you lift me when I’m down?” Each page corresponds to a flap that reveals one of a multitude of feelings love can evoke in either an English or Spanish rhyme, which are not direct translations of each other. An interspersed refrain notes, “Amor for the Spanish, / and love en inglés. / Love in any language / always means the same.” A palette of pastels and purple and pink hues dominate as hearts abound on each page, surrounding the characters, who are adorable though on the overly sweet side. The characters are from the bilingual preschool series Canticos, though it will work even among those without knowledge of the show. Children more fluent in Spanish will be better able to appreciate this, and those familiar with the show will recognize the signature characters, including “Los Pollitos” (Little Chickies). (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A testament to the universality of love. (Board book. 3-6)Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-945635-72-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
There’s always tomorrow.
A lyrical message of perseverance and optimism.
The text uses direct address, which the title- and final-page illustrations suggest comes from an adult voice, to offer inspiration and encouragement. The opening spreads reads, “Tonight as you sleep, a new day stirs. / Each kiss good night is a wish for tomorrow,” as the accompanying art depicts a child with black hair and light skin asleep in a bed that’s fantastically situated in a stylized landscape of buildings, overpasses, and roadways. The effect is dreamlike, in contrast with the next illustration, of a child of color walking through a field and blowing dandelion fluff at sunrise. Until the last spread, each child depicted in a range of settings is solitary. Some visual metaphors falter in terms of credibility, as in the case of a white-appearing child using a wheelchair in an Antarctic ice cave strewn with obstacles, as the text reads “you’ll explore the world, only feeling lost in your imagination.” Others are oblique in attempted connections between text and art. How does a picture of a pale-skinned, black-haired child on a bridge in the rain evoke “first moments that will dance with you”? But the image of a child with pink skin and brown hair scaling a wall as text reads “there will be injustice that will challenge you, and it will surprise you how brave you can be” is clearer.
There’s always tomorrow. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-101-99437-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
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