Poor execution sinks a clever concept.
Bailly’s illustrations and some unusual formatting take a seemingly ordinary outing in surprising directions in this import from France.
Thomas enjoys a vacation trip with his parents beneath a sunny blue sky to an uncrowded beach in the serigraphic-style pictures—until, becoming a bit bored, he wanders off. When the sun begins to go down he anxiously searches for his parents but finds only a book on the ground. That book, smaller in trim size and mounted on the next page, contains the same narrative, word for word…but the locale has shifted to snowy ski slopes and woods. There’s another, yet smaller, book at the end of that version with, again, the same text but a radically different setting: the moon (presumably, as the Earth is visible overhead in one view). Such tweaking of readers’ expectations is, as always, a fun game, but here the conceit works far better in the first two go-rounds than the third, as it’s hard to square the observation that “The air is so clear / The sky so blue” with all the helmeted, vacuum-suited figures strolling over the rocky moonscape, and the book at the end is not “on the ground” as described but actually floating in some sort of large tunnel. In any event, notwithstanding a false promise on the rear cover of at least a fourth iteration, all ends happily as the errant lad’s parents reappear with the next page turn (and the next, and the next) to take him home. Thomas and most of the other humans present as white, but there are a few apparent people of color in crowd scenes.
Poor execution sinks a clever concept. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4243-0
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2019
A lovely vision for small, sensitive existentialists.
Under the desert night sky, Dad helps his child find cosmic comfort.
The vast universe has made a child feel too small despite their close family. Until, the young narrator tells us, they and their father pack their old pickup, driving through the “rubber and french fries” smell of the city and the “sweet and smoky” mountain scent to camp off-road in a remote arroyo. Together they see tiny beetle prints, jump in sand dunes, name birds, build a fire, watch the sunset, and stretch out in the truck bed. A thoughtful, small human, the child admits to being scared of “how big the universe is and how it goes on and on forever.” But equally thoughtful Dad explains that stars, beetles, birds, and even people are made of energy. Angst is not easily tamed, but snuggling and giving the constellations idiosyncratic names help, as does Mom’s back-at-home surprise: glowing stars covering the narrator’s room. In this bed under the stars, this budding philosopher finally feels “at home here in the universe.” It’s a quiet, contemplative tale that might not strike a chord with all readers but will reassure those who share the protagonist’s worries. Delicate, realistic art plays warm orange and brown hues against blues from pale to indigo, balancing (living) warmth and (interstellar) distance. The child and family are light-skinned and redheaded. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A lovely vision for small, sensitive existentialists. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1239-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
An important reminder that, in the quest for friendship, who you truly are is more than enough.
Ivan, a young Black boy with a big, beautiful Afro, is such a skilled street skater that his friends have nicknamed him Epic.
When he and his family move to a new inner-city neighborhood, for the first time he finds himself without a clique to cheer him on or learn new skating stunts from. “You never landed a new trick on the first try,” his dad reminds him. “Keep an open mind, and you’ll meet new friends.” In an attempt to fit in with the neighborhood kids, Epic tries his hand at various other sports without success. Seeing his discouragement, his parents suggest that he skate down to the bodega for a treat. On his way there, Epic performs a scintillating series of skateboarding maneuvers, unaware that several kids of various ages are observing him with great interest. Only when he arrives at the bodega does he realize that he’s unwittingly found himself a new skating crew. Morrison’s upbeat narrative slides along smoothly, mirroring the energy and panache of its protagonist, and at times slips comfortably into African American Vernacular English. Skateboarding terminology is scattered liberally throughout the text, but readers unfamiliar with the jargon will feel the lack of a glossary. Morrison's illustrations—rendered in oil with their trademark graffiti-inspired, urban mannerist style—use interesting perspectives, silhouetting, and continuous narration to create a free-wheeling sense of Epic’s, well, epicness. Most characters are Black; a few illustrations include diverse representation.
An important reminder that, in the quest for friendship, who you truly are is more than enough. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: April 19, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0592-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
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