A giggle of a tale with a simple lesson of determination.
A hungry muffin’s favorite breakfast dish is out of reach in author/illustrator Seymour’s picture book.
This feather-light, just-for-fun children’s story begins as a muffin named Blueburry takes a stroll on the kitchen counter looking for a tasty treat for breakfast. A bowl of icing would be perfect, but it’s on a table that’s some “one thousand muffin-meters away.” Blueburry’s thwarted efforts to reach the table include an unfortunate balloon incident, a rope made of soggy spaghetti, and a too-powerful slingshot crafted from kitchen tools. Encouraged by his kitchen counter friends—a bowl of fruit, a loaf of bread, and a juice box—Blueburry “hike[s] up his muffin liner,” keeps trying, and turns failure into unexpected success. Young children will undoubtedly get a kick out of how thoroughly Blueburry appreciates the finale to his dilemma. Still, readers will find that a clear message of peer support and self-confidence comes through. The author adds whimsy to the proceedings with his spare, fine-lined, pen-and-ink illustrations that give life to goofy-faced food items. Some words, including sound effects, are enlarged for emphasis, encouraging young children to read along. (A “Blueburry” muffin recipe is included.)
A giggle of a tale with a simple lesson of determination.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781738013807
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Tielmour Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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