by Joseph Coelho ; illustrated by Fiona Lumbers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2019
A tender story that fails to realize its full potential.
When Dad leaves, a young child is left to deal with roiling emotions and a headful of overgrown, tangled hair.
The story is told from the point of view of an unnamed child with an ambiguous gender presentation who’s used to going regularly with Dad to the barbershop for a haircut. One day, the child’s father leaves. The child’s blond hair starts growing out of control. The longer Dad is gone, the longer the child’s hair grows, until teacher Miss Clarke can’t recognize her student and Mom, hidden under her own hair, can’t hear her child. Young readers will recognize the feeling of tangled, unmanageable emotions represented by the child’s hair. Yet the effect of this metaphor is limited by the author’s seeming unwillingness to commit to details and to develop the metaphor fully. Did the parents go through a separation, then reconcile? Was the father in a psychiatric hospital? The lack of specificity means that adults should be cautious when choosing this book for a struggling child. It could either be a tool to spark discussion and self-reflection or a vehicle of false hope that a parent will return and troubles will disappear. Lumbers’ illustrations are lively and effective when portraying the child in the wild mop, adding detail to the narrative, though the adults seem static in comparison. Child, parents, and teacher all present white; classmates are diverse.
A tender story that fails to realize its full potential. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5415-7841-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Andersen Press USA
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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by Rachel Isadora ; illustrated by Rachel Isadora ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 14, 2017
If Black Lives Matter, they deserve more specificity than this.
A lushly illustrated picture book with a troubling message.
Little Lala walks with her father after his successful day of fishing. When Mama calls her home for bed, a host of “good night”s delays her: to the bird, the monkey, and even the rock. As Lala wanders through her village in the darkening twilight, readers appreciate its expansive beauty and Lala’s simple joys. Although it’s been artfully written and richly illustrated by an award-winning author of many multicultural stories, this book has problems that overshadow its beauty. “African veld” sets the story in southern Africa, but its vague locale encourages Americans to think that distinctions among African countries don’t matter. Lala wears braids or locks that stick straight up, recalling the 19th-century pickaninny, and her inconsistent skin color ranges from deep ebony like her father’s to light brown. Shadows may cause some of these differences, but if it weren’t for her identifiable hair, readers might wonder if the same child wanders from page to page. Perhaps most striking of all is Lala’s bedtime story: not an African tale but an American classic. While this might evoke nostalgia in some readers, it also suggests that southern Africa has no comparably great bedtime books for Lala, perhaps in part because American children’s literature dominates the world market.
If Black Lives Matter, they deserve more specificity than this. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-17384-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
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by Jennifer Ward ; illustrated by Steve Jenkins ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 18, 2014
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers.
Echoing the meter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Ward uses catchy original rhymes to describe the variety of nests birds create.
Each sweet stanza is complemented by a factual, engaging description of the nesting habits of each bird. Some of the notes are intriguing, such as the fact that the hummingbird uses flexible spider web to construct its cup-shaped nest so the nest will stretch as the chicks grow. An especially endearing nesting behavior is that of the emperor penguin, who, with unbelievable patience, incubates the egg between his tummy and his feet for up to 60 days. The author clearly feels a mission to impart her extensive knowledge of birds and bird behavior to the very young, and she’s found an appealing and attractive way to accomplish this. The simple rhymes on the left page of each spread, written from the young bird’s perspective, will appeal to younger children, and the notes on the right-hand page of each spread provide more complex factual information that will help parents answer further questions and satisfy the curiosity of older children. Jenkins’ accomplished collage illustrations of common bird species—woodpecker, hummingbird, cowbird, emperor penguin, eagle, owl, wren—as well as exotics, such as flamingoes and hornbills, are characteristically naturalistic and accurate in detail.
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers. (author’s note, further resources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2116-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
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