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THE QUESTION SONG

Name: THE QUESTION SONG
Author: Kaethe Zemach
ISBN: 0-316-66601-7

by Kaethe Zemach & illustrated by Kaethe Zemach ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2003

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The daughter and granddaughter of artists offers a very agreeable rhymed verse with a large comfort quotient. Each spread begins with a repeated line about a common domestic tragedy: “My juice is spilling on the floor! What are we going to do?” “I can’t find my bunny! What are we going to do?” A couplet responds, “We’ll pick up the cup / and wipe the floor. / Then start again and / pour you some more!” and each ends with “That’s what we will do!” Zemach uses an unusual 19th-century painting technique involving stencils, transfers, oil paint, and velvet; the result is soft and expressive edges, lively colors, and charming use of pattern. The couplet sits inside a circular framed image on the left side of each spread and on the right a rectangle frames the response and two or three images that resolve the problem. The parents have strawberry-blonde and fuzzy dark hair; the brother and sister combine these traits. Families will make up their own music (and their own mishaps) to continue this rollicking tale of cleanup and comfort. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: July 1, 2003

ISBN: 0-316-66601-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2003

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
MS. MCCAW LEARNS TO DRAW
by Kaethe Zemach & illustrated by Kaethe Zemach

- BOOK REVIEW
EATING UP GLADYS
by Margot Zemach & illustrated by Kaethe Zemach

- BOOK REVIEW
JUST ENOUGH AND NOT TOO MUCH
by Kaethe Zemach & illustrated by Kaethe Zemach

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TSUNAMI!

by Kimiko Kajikawa & illustrated by Ed Young ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 2009

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Through quick thinking and personal sacrifice, a wise old Japanese farmer saves the people of his village from a devastating tsunami in this simple yet striking story based on Lafcadio Hearn’s “A Living God.” Ojiisan lives in a cottage on a mountain overlooking the village and sea. One day, villagers gather to celebrate the rice harvest, but Ojiisan stays home thinking “something does not feel right.” When the earth quakes and the sea darkens and runs away from the land, Ojiisan realizes a tsunami approaches. Fearing the oblivious villagers will be swept away, Ojiisan torches his rice fields to attract attention, and they respond, barely escaping the monster wave. Rendered in gouache, pastel and collage, Young’s illustrations cleverly combine natural textures, bold colors and abstract shapes to convey compelling images of chaos and disaster as the rice fields burn and the wave rushes in. In one literally breathtaking double-page spread, an enormous wall of water engulfs the teeny seacoast village. A visually powerful and dramatic tribute to one man’s willingness to sacrifice everything for others. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-399-25006-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Philomel

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2008

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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THE GRUFFALO

by Julia Donaldson illustrated by Axel Scheffler ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 1999

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The action of this rhymed and humorous tale centers upon a mouse who "took a stroll/through the deep dark wood./A fox saw the mouse/and the mouse looked good." The mouse escapes being eaten by telling the fox that he is on his way to meet his friend the gruffalo (a monster of his imagination), whose favorite food is roasted fox. The fox beats a hasty retreat. Similar escapes are in store for an owl and a snake; both hightail it when they learn the particulars: tusks, claws, terrible jaws, eyes orange, tongue black, purple prickles on its back. When the gruffalo suddenly materializes out of the mouse's head and into the forest, the mouse has to think quick, declaring himself inedible as the "scariest creature in the deep dark wood," and inviting the gruffalo to follow him to witness the effect he has on the other creatures. When the gruffalo hears that the mouse's favorite food is gruffalo crumble, he runs away. It's a fairly innocuous tale, with twists that aren't sharp enough and treachery that has no punch. Scheffler's funny scenes prevent the suspense from culminating; all his creatures, predator and prey, are downright lovable. (Picture book. 3-6)