Younger kids are not likely to recognize many of the lesser-known types of pasta, but what a toothsome way to have fun with...
Get your forks ready—this salute to pasta via the ABCs is truly entertaining, as the subtitle states.
Photographs of real pasta of many varieties are overlaid on loosely drawn digital drawings against white space to lend form and figure to circus performers A to Z. The cover image of a ringmaster with a rigatoni body sets up the conceit, and the fun is on. A stands for “angel hair acrobats”: four figures with angel-hair nests for faces and leotards with red, green, blue, or yellow stripes. C is for “campanelle clowns” wearing silly pasta hats. F is for “fettuccine fire-eaters,” with the pasta representing the fire. The occasional nonpasta item harmonizes nicely, as with the “herb hoops” a couple of acrobats use as props and the “plate spinners” named “Pecorino and Parmigiano.” Medina introduces other proper names too, as in “quick Quentin quadrucci” and “x-traordinary Xavier the xylophonist.” Some of the elements are quite exotic, such as the “nets” made of “nero di seppia” that catch the trapeze artists. The endpapers are small drawings of the various circus performers. Some require that readers look closely, as with the strands of “spaghetti” that act as bleachers for the “spectators.” All letters are presented clearly in both upper- and lowercase.
Younger kids are not likely to recognize many of the lesser-known types of pasta, but what a toothsome way to have fun with them. (Picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-99978-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on...
Continuing from their acclaimed Those Shoes (2007), Boelts and Jones entwine conversations on money, motives, and morality.
This second collaboration between author and illustrator is set within an urban multicultural streetscape, where brown-skinned protagonist Ruben wishes for a bike like his friend Sergio’s. He wishes, but Ruben knows too well the pressure his family feels to prioritize the essentials. While Sergio buys a pack of football cards from Sonny’s Grocery, Ruben must buy the bread his mom wants. A familiar lady drops what Ruben believes to be a $1 bill, but picking it up, to his shock, he discovers $100! Is this Ruben’s chance to get himself the bike of his dreams? In a fateful twist, Ruben loses track of the C-note and is sent into a panic. After finally finding it nestled deep in a backpack pocket, he comes to a sense of moral clarity: “I remember how it was for me when that money that was hers—then mine—was gone.” When he returns the bill to her, the lady offers Ruben her blessing, leaving him with double-dipped emotions, “happy and mixed up, full and empty.” Readers will be pleased that there’s no reward for Ruben’s choice of integrity beyond the priceless love and warmth of a family’s care and pride.
Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on children. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6649-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
A welcome, well-researched reflection of cultural pride in the early-reader landscape.
The fourth installment in Delacre’s early-reader series centers on the rich musical traditions of Puerto Rico, once again featuring sibling tree frogs Rafi and Rosi Coquí.
Readers learn along with Rafi and Rosi as they explore bomba, plena, and salsa in three chapters. A glossary at the beginning sets readers up well to understand the Spanish vocabulary, including accurate phoneticization for non-Spanish speakers. The stories focus on Rafi and Rosi’s relationship within a musical context. For example, in one chapter Rafi finds out that he attracts a larger audience playing his homemade güiro with Rosi’s help even though he initially excluded her: “Big brothers only.” Even when he makes mistakes, as the older brother, Rafi consoles Rosi when she is embarrassed or angry at him. In each instance, their shared joy for music and dance ultimately shines through any upsets—a valuable reflection of unity. Informational backmatter and author’s sources are extensive. Undoubtedly these will help teachers, librarians, and parents to develop Puerto Rican cultural programs, curriculum, or home activities to extend young readers’ learning. The inclusion of instructions to make one’s own homemade güiro is a thoughtful addition. The Spanish translation, also by Delacre and published simultaneously, will require a more advanced reader than the English one to recognize and comprehend contractions (“pa’bajo-pa-pa’rriba”) and relatively sophisticated vocabulary.
A welcome, well-researched reflection of cultural pride in the early-reader landscape. (Early reader. 7-9)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-89239-429-6
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Children's Book Press
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
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