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THE POET UPSTAIRS

Name: THE POET UPSTAIRS
Author: Judith Ortiz Cofer
ISBN: 978-1-55885-704-9

by Judith Ortiz Cofer & illustrated by Oscar Ortiz ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 30, 2012

This interesting-enough, though obvious tale is made remarkable by its illustrations.

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With help from her imagination and the poet upstairs, a young Latina escapes a dreary winter in the city.

Out sick from school, Juliana sees a woman move into the apartment above her own. Readers discover that the woman is “a famous poet” who “lived on an island,” as Juliana’s mother once had. Falling asleep to the sound of the woman typing upstairs, Juliana dreams of a beautiful Caribbean island (presumably Cofer’s native Puerto Rico). After awakening, she begins to imagine everything that the poet is doing above her and creates drawings of this dream island. Juliana slips these drawings under the poet’s apartment door and is rewarded the next day with a pictogram message from the poet, inviting her to visit. Together, the nameless poet and Juliana write a poem about a river and escape into a lush land of tropical birds, flowers and sunshine. Although the poem ends and the two return to the cold reality of the city, the poet assures Juliana that she can use poetry as a way to journey to other places. This advice keeps Juliana from being lonely, even after the poet moves away. In his debut picture book, Ortiz adds depth to the fanciful, lengthy narrative with his colorful mixed-media artwork.

This interesting-enough, though obvious tale is made remarkable by its illustrations. (Picture book. 5-9)

Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2012

ISBN: 978-1-55885-704-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Piñata Books/Arte Público

Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2012

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
ANIMAL JAMBOREE / LA FIESTA DE LOS ANIMALES
by Judith Ortiz Cofer & illustrated by Ted Dawson & Giovanni Mora

- BOOK REVIEW
<i>¡A BAILAR!</i> LET'S DANCE!
by Judith Ortiz Cofer & illustrated by Christina Ann Rodriguez

- BOOK REVIEW
IF I COULD FLY
by Judith Ortiz Cofer

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TALES FOR VERY PICKY EATERS

by Josh Schneider & illustrated by Josh Schneider ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2011

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Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)

Pub Date: May 1, 2011

ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Clarion Books

Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
ULTRABOT'S FIRST PLAYDATE
by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider

- BOOK REVIEW
KID AMAZING VS. THE BLOB
by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider

- BOOK REVIEW
EVERYBODY SLEEPS (BUT NOT FRED)
by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider

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BOOKMARKS ARE PEOPLE TOO!

From the Here's Hank series , Vol. 1

by Henry Winkler ; Lin Oliver ; illustrated by Scott Garrett ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 14, 2014

An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda.

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Hank Zipzer, poster boy for dyslexic middle graders everywhere, stars in a new prequel series highlighting second-grade trials and triumphs.

Hank’s hopes of playing Aqua Fly, a comic-book character, in the upcoming class play founder when, despite plenty of coaching and preparation, he freezes up during tryouts. He is not particularly comforted when his sympathetic teacher adds a nonspeaking role as a bookmark to the play just for him. Following the pattern laid down in his previous appearances as an older child, he gets plenty of help and support from understanding friends (including Ashley Wong, a new apartment-house neighbor). He even manages to turn lemons into lemonade with a quick bit of improv when Nick “the Tick” McKelty, the sneering classmate who took his preferred role, blanks on his lines during the performance. As the aforementioned bully not only chokes in the clutch and gets a demeaning nickname, but is fat, boastful and eats like a pig, the authors’ sensitivity is rather one-sided. Still, Hank has a winning way of bouncing back from adversity, and like the frequent black-and-white line-and-wash drawings, the typeface is designed with easy legibility in mind.

An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda. (Fiction. 7-9)