A conversation starter.
A new take on the Babel tale featuring friendship, song, and a dragon.
Two children on a playground overhear an old woman telling a story. Since one child doesn’t understand her language, the other takes on the storytelling. The story differs from what the listener—and perhaps readers—is familiar with: After the people of Babel build their tower, “God sent a dragon to destroy the tower, and then God made it impossible for people to understand each other—by making new languages for everyone.” The translating child continues, describing how sudden linguistic barriers did nothing to dim the friendship between two young girls of Babel. Through song, the two discovered how to communicate once more. Conveyed entirely through dialogue, back-and-forth questioning between listening child and translating child moves the action forward but also prompts musings on belief and story. “None of it is realistic. It’s a story, not reality.…No one’s asking you to believe, just imagine.” Grobler’s mixed-media work illustrates the narrative layers. He sticks primarily to an inky palette for the playground action while illuminating the Babel tale with bright watercolor and colored pencil. Just as the skeptical child concedes, “That sounds realistic,” the illustrator injects color into the playground. Languages are denoted by different symbol sets rather than lettering, and the cast of characters is diverse in skin color and dress, including both pairs of friends.
A conversation starter. (author’s note) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-77306-036-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2019
Fast and furious action guaranteed to keep new readers laughing and turning pages.
Never underestimate the chaotic fun that magic and an angry bouncing ball can create.
When Frog goes to the library, he borrows a book on magic. He then heads to a nearby park to read up on the skills necessary to becoming “a great magician.” Suddenly, a deflated yellow ball lands with a “Thud!” at his feet. Although he flexes his new magician muscles, Frog’s spells fall as flat as the ball. But when Frog shouts “Phooey!” and kicks the ball away, it inflates to become a big, angry ball. The ball begins to chase Frog, so he seeks shelter in the library—and Frog and ball turn the library’s usual calm into chaos. The cartoon chase crescendos. The ball bounces into the middle of a game of chess, interrupts a puppet show, and crashes into walls and bookcases. Staying just one bounce ahead, Frog runs, hides, grabs a ride on a book cart, and scatters books and papers as he slides across the library furniture before an alligator patron catches the ball and kicks it out the library door. But that’s not the end of the ball….Caple’s tidy panels and pastel-hued cartoons make a surprisingly effective setting for the slapstick, which should have young readers giggling. Simple sentences—often just subject and verb—with lots of repetition propel the action. Frog’s nonsense-word spells (“Poof Wiffle, Bop Bip!”) are both funny and excellent practice in phonetics. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Fast and furious action guaranteed to keep new readers laughing and turning pages. (Graphic early reader. 5-7)Pub Date: Aug. 10, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4341-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
Will draw more eyes than ever to the antics of this tuberous twosome.
Can Rot Poe Tater scare the snot out of Snot, his irritating big brother? Maybe with help from friends!
Tired of being the victim of his sib’s mischievous pranks, Rot, an anthropomorphic potato, is determined to turn the tables. Unfortunately, Snot seems to have eyes in the back of his head (no surprise, considering that he’s a potato), and even with a new pair of sneakers, Rot just can’t get the drop on him. Where can Rot learn to be even sneakier? Spy school, of course! Though Rot makes a hash out of lessons in keeping secrets and other spy skills, he finds classmates with complementary talents willing to help dish up a plan clever enough to startle the smirking older spud into a spectacularly gooey sneeze. And rather than mashing down his booger-blasted little bro, Snot gives him grudging props. Rot and pals rush to celebrate over a plate of only slightly slimed cupcakes (yum!), and the tale closes with a roguish final twist. The art, peeled down to the essentials and made with a mix of earth-toned paints, digital effects, and potato prints, adds to the episode’s air of mildly decayed charm.
Will draw more eyes than ever to the antics of this tuberous twosome. (nature facts, pranking guidelines, drawing lesson) (Graphic fiction. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781665964302
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
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