Dandy and dazzling and top-notch fun.
A day in the youth of motor-mouth Mel Blanc, written by his daughter-in-law.
Mel Blanc—the “Man of 1,000 Voices,” including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and the ear-splitting Woody Woodpecker—wasn’t born with a wizard’s tongue; he had to work at it—at top volume. Ebbeler’s setting for this tale of young Mel is pleasingly Edwardian, with lovely background planes of graded color or design with deep, inky linework laid over. This intimacy makes Mel’s riotous creations that much more voluble. Out of bed, he is a dragon, “HHHHHhhhhh….” The sounds Mel creates are hand-lettered, drawn to swirl, evoke, and enfold. Mel finds the best acoustical venues for the figments of his imagination at school: a vaulted hallway for a train (“Woooooo…woo”), the tiled bathroom for a giant shark (“Chomp”). He’s a rascal, which doesn’t escape the principal, for instance, or the playground monitor, or the bus driver (all white, just like Mel and his family). But his vocal cords and his robots, race cars, tornadoes, and bulldogs won’t be tamed. “I’m still the fastest mouth in the world,” even when he is sentenced to school-kitchen duty or raking the family lawn. Blanc’s text is trim and keeps a jazzy, upbeat tempo, presenting the story of one very inventive kid rather than a biography of one of the 20th century’s most oft-heard voices (though a biographical note follows).
Dandy and dazzling and top-notch fun. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-58089-714-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A self-affirming tale with limited appeal.
Actor Kruger embraces her unusual name and bestows her daughter with a name with special significance.
To many, the name Diane doesn’t sound odd, but when the author was growing up in Germany, it didn’t “sound German at all, like Anna, Lena, or Heidi.” In this picture book, Kruger reminisces about the meaning of her name and how she came to appreciate it. Delicately drawn illustrations with a light watercolor wash first depict a young, blond, White-presenting Diane in red patchwork overalls with her blue-kerchiefed pet bunny, Benny. To escape childhood taunting, Diane reads to Benny as Puss in Boots, Little Red Riding Hood, and other fairy-tale characters look on. When her mother explains she was named for a goddess, presumably the Roman goddess Diana, “a fearless huntress, strong-willed, with magical powers,” young Diane begins to wonder what her own special powers will be. After she and her mother travel to London, depicted with diverse citizens, and Diane sees a play for the first time, she realizes her gift is storytelling. Adult readers, especially fans of Kruger, will recognize illustrated scenes from several of her movies. She concludes with a tribute to her daughter and the distinct name she gave her and asks children to ponder their own names and powers. Though the art is attractive, overall, this quiet, understated tale will resonate more with caregiving readers than with children. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A self-affirming tale with limited appeal. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66265-091-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
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