Lovely, but for art enthusiasts and book collectors more than for child readers.
An Indian import, this art book functions as an introduction to a variety of traditional art forms from the Indian subcontinent.
Pictures of animals are printed on brightly colored handmade paper on the recto, and the names of the animal and the art form are printed on the bottom of the verso. All the animals pictured are native to India: tigers, lions, bulls, snakes, crocodiles, monkeys, dogs, and elephants. By grouping the animals together—for instance, all the tigers appear together, followed by the lions, and so on—the book actively encourages comparisons among different forms of Indian folk art. An index at the end of the book provides readers with more information regarding the art style, the artist, and where the art originates. The tiger printed in the Pithora tribal art style, for example, is adapted from the original by the artist Paresh Ratva. The style is described as a “Ritual decorative art form, painted on the walls of houses, using natural earth colors”; it is native to the Indian states of Rajasthan and Gujarat. The variations in line, palette, and level of realism are broad, giving readers a good sense of the vigor and diversity of Indian folk art. Although beautifully crafted, however, it is more an artifact than a traditional picture book. Each book is one of a limited printing of 3,000 and includes a framable print.
Lovely, but for art enthusiasts and book collectors more than for child readers. (Picture book. 8-adult)Pub Date: June 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-93-83145-58-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tara Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock”...
The theme of persistence (for better or worse) links four tales of magic, trickery, and near disasters.
Lachenmeyer freely borrows familiar folkloric elements, subjecting them to mildly comical twists. In the nearly wordless “Hip Hop Wish,” a frog inadvertently rubs a magic lamp and finds itself saddled with an importunate genie eager to shower it with inappropriate goods and riches. In the title tale, an increasingly annoyed music-hating witch transforms a persistent minstrel into a still-warbling cow, horse, sheep, goat, pig, duck, and rock in succession—then is horrified to catch herself humming a tune. Athesius the sorcerer outwits Warthius, a rival trying to steal his spells via a parrot, by casting silly ones in Ig-pay Atin-lay in the third episode, and in the finale, a painter’s repeated efforts to create a flattering portrait of an ogre king nearly get him thrown into a dungeon…until he suddenly understands what an ogre’s idea of “flattering” might be. The narratives, dialogue, and sound effects leave plenty of elbow room in Blocker’s big, brightly colored panels for the expressive animal and human(ish) figures—most of the latter being light skinned except for the golden genie, the blue ogre, and several people of color in the “Sorcerer’s New Pet.”
Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock” music. (Graphic short stories. 8-10)Pub Date: June 18, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-59643-750-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
An inspirational exploration of caring among parent, teacher and child—one of Grimes’ best. (Poetry. 8-12)
In this delightfully spare narrative in verse, Coretta Scott King Award–winning Grimes examines a marriage’s end from the perspective of a child.
Set mostly in the wake of her father’s departure, only-child Gabby reveals with moving clarity in these short first-person poems the hardship she faces relocating with her mother and negotiating the further loss of a good friend while trying to adjust to a new school. Gabby has always been something of a dreamer, but when she begins study in her new class, she finds her thoughts straying even more. She admits: “Some words / sit still on the page / holding a story steady. / … / But other words have wings / that wake my daydreams. / They … / tickle my imagination, / and carry my thoughts away.” To illustrate Gabby’s inner wanderings, Grimes’ narrative breaks from the present into episodic bursts of vivid poetic reminiscence. Luckily, Gabby’s new teacher recognizes this inability to focus to be a coping mechanism and devises a daily activity designed to harness daydreaming’s creativity with a remarkably positive result for both Gabby and the entire class. Throughout this finely wrought narrative, Grimes’ free verse is tight, with perfect breaks of line and effortless shifts from reality to dream states and back.
An inspirational exploration of caring among parent, teacher and child—one of Grimes’ best. (Poetry. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-59078-985-8
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Wordsong/Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
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