Perhaps only in New York City could a small girl go from one apartment to another in her building, helping friends of all nationalities prepare special foods for her sister Sallie’s wedding. The delighted girl makes dolmades with her Greek papa, tamales with the groom’s father, steamed cakes with Mr. Chen in 5B, biscotti with Se§ora Theodora in 2C, and so on. Thus, the tradition behind and significance of every delicacy is described in a childlike and joyful manner. The foods—including some Japanese fish of happiness and Chinese honey-harmonizing-with-oil buns—provide a mini-tour of world cultures. There are homey, familiar scenes of cooking in a variety of kitchens; the warm watercolor paintings contrast real-life domesticity with the exhilaration of the pending nuptials. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: March 15, 1998
ISBN: 0-8234-1342-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Required reading for all children who have ever grumbled that "grownups get to have all the fun." Once they realize, through this litany, that "grown-ups have aches and pains. . . . can take out their teeth . . . snore . . . get headaches . . . wrinkles" and ". . . take a lot of pills," they may want to stay children forever. Adults are also "mean . . . rude . . . cheapskates" who "hate to pay their taxes" but "like to punish people." Steig moderates his venting in the full-page cartoons, rendered with characteristic simplicity; the grownups are seen as slightly foolish figures whose foibles amuse — or only slightly annoy — the children around them. Reductio ad absurdum, of course, and if the relentlessness of the mockery grates, the clever ways the illustrations elaborate on the generalizations should elicit a few chuckles. Even minor Steig is memorable. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-06-205080-X
Page Count: 48
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1995
A Japanese folktale about a rice farmer and his wife who pray to the Water God for a child, any child. He sends them a snail, which they raise as their son. After 20 years, the snail speaks, asking the now-elderly farmer to allow him to take the horses with the rice tax to the choja who owns their fields. The choja is so impressed with the snail that he offers him one of his daughters as a wife. After she proves her unconditional love for him, he turns into a man. Williams debuts with unhurried prose and polished, slightly elevated language that is perfect for this Shintoist story, giving it depth. This is fully preserved in Kiuchi's atmospheric illustrations—full-fledged oil paintings. Almost without bright colors or smile (until the end), they have a powerful haunting effect, evoking Japanese vistas and moods without resorting to stylization. Sources are fully cited in an author's note. (Picture book/folklore. 4-7)
Pub Date: May 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-671-87167-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
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