A Yiddish folktale retold without the oy vey.
A wise woman offers advice to a farmer whose home is too noisy and too crowded.
A little house with a human or animal face in every window sits solidly in the meadow as a cock welcomes the morning. It is an “itty-bitty house” in every detail. Farmer Earl strides out the doorway of his too-crowded and too-noisy house, leaving behind his wife and several children to ask a neighbor for help. The answer, to bring his ducks into the house, confuses him, but he follows her advice. The ducks do as ducks do—“flapp[ing]” and “snack[ing]” and “waddl[ing]” and “quack[ing]”—so the farmer returns to the wise woman. Housing the horses and goats are her next words of wisdom, resulting in even more mayhem. Finally, the outdoor animals are returned to the outdoors, and Farmer Earl at last finds peace “AND extra space!” The author credits the Yiddish folktale “It Could Always Be Worse” as her source, but the flavor of the original is gone. With plenty of active and noisy verbs, the repetitive text does offer possibilities for a lively read-aloud session. The humans all present as White with an Americana folk-art sameness to their facial features while the animal antics are mildly amusing. The effect is to create very busy indoor settings that appear more as a freeze-frame than an animated event, taking some energy away from the text.
A Yiddish folktale retold without the oy vey. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-8075-5692-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A heartfelt forward pass from one generation to the next (and the next).
A pigskin-themed paean to family and family traditions.
As images depict a football-shaped newborn growing up, marrying, and helping to produce another—the second actually dressed in a football onesie, which is adorable—sports podcaster Holloway notes rookie season fumbles and triumphs, team huddles on the sofa to watch the big games, the passage of quarters and seasons, and major life events (like the wedding: “One day you may get drafted / To a franchise of your own”). All the while, Holloway promises to cheer from the sidelines in victory or defeat, to be there when needed, and to give each “wonderful expansion / of our football family” both a welcome and proper coaching. The family in Jang’s shiny, reasonably realistic illustrations includes three children. The verse’s language is nonspecific enough to apply to offspring of any gender as well as adoptees. In school settings and on playing fields of several sorts, the child, at various ages, light-skinned like their parents, joins a diverse group of peers, including one wearing a hijab and another who uses a hearing aid, while the child’s own family includes a dark-skinned sibling and, by the end, a child with, like their spouse, Asian features. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A heartfelt forward pass from one generation to the next (and the next). (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-84715-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
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