Stars and wishes intertwine in this celestial friendship tale.
Eridani, a human girl, loves to look up at the night sky to see and talk to her best friend, Acamar, a constellation of a boy. During the day, Eridani pores over sky maps and star plots as she works on celestial school projects. But studying the stars will never be the same as being up in the stars like Acamar. Eridani silently wishes she could trade her blood and bones for space and stars. At the same time, Acamar quietly yearns to feel his feet on the sand. The expertly paced, lyrical third-person narration creates an otherworldly atmosphere for this long-form picture book. The texts of the first and second halves of the story mirror each other, further highlighting the special connection between the friends. Illustrations are awash in textures, some splattered, some brushed, some drawn, visually expanding the ethereal world created by the text. The visual pacing of the illustrations contrasts spreads bursting with jewel-toned colors and exuberant movement with pages featuring speech-bubble dialogue spotlighted in a sea of black. As humans, the friends appear as children of color in a timeless setting; as constellations, their human silhouettes are filled in with shimmering blue, purple, and black, shot through with glittering stars. Readers will be thrilled to learn from the author’s note that Acamar really is a star within the constellation Eridanus, and Denos provides some resources for those who want to learn more.
Get lost in the stars in this gorgeous tale of friendship and astronomy. (Picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-358-15395-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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From an artist, poet, and Instagram celebrity, a pep talk for all who question where a new road might lead.
Opening by asking readers, “Have you ever wanted to go in a different direction,” the unnamed narrator describes having such a feeling and then witnessing the appearance of a new road “almost as if it were magic.” “Where do you lead?” the narrator asks. The Road’s twice-iterated response—“Be a leader and find out”—bookends a dialogue in which a traveler’s anxieties are answered by platitudes. “What if I fall?” worries the narrator in a stylized, faux hand-lettered type Wade’s Instagram followers will recognize. The Road’s dialogue and the narration are set in a chunky, sans-serif type with no quotation marks, so the one flows into the other confusingly. “Everyone falls at some point, said the Road. / But I will always be there when you land.” Narrator: “What if the world around us is filled with hate?” Road: “Lead it to love.” Narrator: “What if I feel stuck?” Road: “Keep going.” De Moyencourt illustrates this colloquy with luminous scenes of a small, brown-skinned child, face turned away from viewers so all they see is a mop of blond curls. The child steps into an urban mural, walks along a winding country road through broad rural landscapes and scary woods, climbs a rugged metaphorical mountain, then comes to stand at last, Little Prince–like, on a tiny blue and green planet. Wade’s closing claim that her message isn’t meant just for children is likely superfluous…in fact, forget the just.
Inspiration, shrink wrapped. (Picture book. 6-8, adult)Pub Date: March 23, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-26949-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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This tale of self-acceptance and respect for one’s roots is breathtaking.
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A young Chinese American girl sees more than the shape of her eyes.
In this circular tale, the unnamed narrator observes that some peers have “eyes like sapphire lagoons / with lashes like lace trim on ballgowns,” but her eyes are different. She “has eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea.” Author Ho’s lyrical narrative goes on to reveal how the girl’s eyes are like those of other women and girls in her family, expounding on how each pair of eyes looks and what they convey. Mama’s “eyes sparkl[e] like starlight,” telling the narrator, “I’m a miracle. / In those moments when she’s all mine.” Mama’s eyes, the girl observes, take after Amah’s. While she notes that her grandmother’s eyes “don’t work like they used to,” they are able to see “all the way into my heart” and tell her stories. Here, illustrator Ho’s spreads bloom with references to Chinese stories and landscapes. Amah’s eyes are like those of the narrator’s little sister. Mei-Mei’s eyes are filled with hope and with admiration for her sister. Illustrator Ho’s textured cartoons and clever use of light and shadow exude warmth and whimsy that match the evocative text. When the narrator comes to describe her own eyes and acknowledges the power they hold, she is posed against swirling patterns, figures, and swaths of breathtaking landscapes from Chinese culture. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 80.5% of actual size.)
This tale of self-acceptance and respect for one’s roots is breathtaking. (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-291562-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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