Using just three impossibly bright colors, printmaker Yoon illustrates a collection of animal-themed poems of varying familiarity.
There’s a nostalgic feel to the collection, as many poems date from the 19th century—William Blake’s “The Tiger,” Christina Rossetti’s “Caterpillar,” and Lewis Carroll’s “The Crocodile” among them—and none dates later than the mid-20th century. For all that they may be old, however, the poems have a real child friendliness, from the light verse of Ogden Nash (“The Eel”) and Hilaire Belloc (“The Yak”) to the weightier stanzas of D.H. Lawrence (“Humming-bird”) and Walter de la Mare (“Dream Song”). If the poetry delights, the prints dazzle. Layering cyan, magenta, and yellow—and eschewing black—Yoon produces crowded, eye-popping images that will draw children’s attention. There’s a studied, childlike crudeness to her stylings, full of scribbly lines and overlap, that yields great energy. Carolyn Wells’ “Happy Hyena,” its bright pink head wildly out of proportion to its body, wears a green jacket and a yellow waistcoat, playing the concertina as it walks through town. The book’s design offers further surprises. A pink telephone jangles imperiously in a seemingly empty room in Laura Richards’ “Eletelephony,” but a gatefold opens to show an enormous teal-and-purple elephant hopelessly entangled in the telephone’s cord.
Gleefully distinctive stylings, fluorescent colors, and beautiful bookmaking should make an eager new audience for these old poems. (Picture book/poetry. 4-10)Pub Date: April 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-59270-166-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S POETRY
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A picture-book adaptation of a work by former U.S. Poet Laureate Harjo, illustrated by Caldecott medalist Goade.
As Harjo, a member of the Mvskoke Nation, entreats readers to look back on their ancestors and the stories that have been passed from generation to generation, Goade draws from her Tlingit culture, depicting first the trickster Raven, who brought light to the world (“Remember the sun’s birth at dawn”), then a young Tlingit girl. The sonorous text prompts the child to remember her birth, the parents who gave her life, “the earth whose skin you are,” “the plants, trees, / animal life who all have their tribes, their families, their histories, too.” Infused with rich hues and energy, Goade’s lavish gouache, watercolor, and colored-pencil illustrations dance alongside Harjo’s poetry like a musical score. “Remember all is in motion, / is growing, is you.” Dreamlike images of soaring birds, swirling sea creatures, and swift-moving animals travel through a magical world of memories. Children will take comfort in the words of strength about nature and the universe; adults should use this book to spark dialogue about the natural world and family stories: “Remember the wind. / Remember her voice. / She knows the origin of this universe.”(This book was reviewed digitally.)
A contemplative, visually dazzling masterpiece that will resonate even more deeply each time it is read. (author’s and illustrator’s notes) (Picture book/poetry. 4-8)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-48484-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House Studio
Review Posted Online: Nov. 29, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2022
Categories: CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S POETRY
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PERSPECTIVES
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. 12, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
Categories: CHILDREN'S POETRY | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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