In a time of “castles and monasteries,” a poor young man named Simeon plays his lute for all and loves a noblewoman, Sorrel. He’s ashamed that he has little to offer her, so he goes on a journey to open himself to more music. The percussion of soldiers, the chant of monks, even the cacophony of the city inspire him, but he feels lost and overwhelmed. He trades his lute for a boat home, saves a bird, fish, and fawn who follow him on his way (musically, of course), cuts a reed from the riverbank to make a flute, and when he arrives home finds a perfect melody in his heart for Sorrel and for all. The illustrations are in Spirin’s blindingly gorgeous style: echoes of Florentine and Venetian architecture, French manuscript painting, and Renaissance portraits make a beautiful and evocative whole. The story rather bobbles and clunks along, though, with the weight of too many words and perhaps not a clear enough melody. (CD of Andrews reading) (Picture book. 6-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-06-008914-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The veteran sportswriter, whom readers will remember from his affecting story of Jackie Robinson and PeeWee Reese (Teammates, 1990), takes the real-life tale of baseball slugger Hank Aaron and fashions it into a fable of hope, endurance, and faith. Aaron's father wished him the joy of baseball, and his mother wanted him to make a difference in the world. A childhood of grinding poverty included both schoolwork and baseball, and by the time he was 16, a local team wanted him and the color line had been broken in the majors. Aaron joined the Milwaukee Braves in 1954 as a powerful home-run hitter. When he began to close in on Babe Ruth's record of 714 homers, he also began to get nasty letters. Two of the most powerful illustrations in Lee's muscular acrylics are of Aaron standing before a wall of ugly hate mail and swinging in front of a looming image of the Babe. The art is made in the sunny, saturated colors of baseball cards, and the one of Aaron at full extension tossing the bat away as he heads for first is as pretty a piece of baseball art as can be imagined. Aaron did break Ruth's record, he did receive an outpouring of support, and his mom was there in 1974 when he hit #715. Pair this for the perfect spring story hour with Lesa Cline-Ransome's Satchel Paige (not reviewed) and Elisha Cooper's Ballpark (1998). (Picture book/biography. 6-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-15-202093-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Gulliver/Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
Bronson earns high marks for dazzling visuals in her solo debut, even if the rhymed captions don’t always measure up. Inviting viewers under the Big Top, she offers a succession of stylized circus performers bent into paired letters: a leaping Clown frames posed Dogs; a joey leans out from its mother’s pouch to form a “K” next to two (striped?!?) Lions; a glittering Ringmaster places one foot forward and bends into an elegant bow to create his letter. Too many of the accompanying lines are just filler: “O is for outrageous, a true work of art. / P is for performer, just doing her part.” But, crafted from modeling clay, paint, and inventively used craft items, and topped by Picasso-esque double faces, her long, skinny figures gesture and posture in grand style. The bright colors and eccentric forms command attention, and if children skip the text, they won’t miss much. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-8050-6294-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2001
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