by Kathy Mallat & Bruce McMillan & photographed by Bruce McMillan & illustrated by Kathy Mallat ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1997
While many a beginning concept book focuses solely on colors or shapes, this picture-book collaboration of a newcomer and a veteran introduces young viewers to additional elements of art, including lines, forms, shades, patterns, and textures. In a cumulative This-Is-the-House-That-Jack-Built text, a blank piece of paper in the hands of a mother drawing at the beach becomes a finished portrait of her two daughters. The girls narrate: ``These are the lines/sketched with the colors/that brightened the paper/used for the picture/that Mom drew.'' Each art term is highlighted in type that demonstrates the concept described (e.g., the word lines is underlined). McMillan's trademark full- color photographs take center stage in the first few pages, then become less conspicuous as the portrait develops and becomes the focus. The photos of the creation of the drawing do not always follow the cumulative pattern of the text; instead, the camera zooms in to a specific part of the page to explore the technique. Children will enjoy the surprise of seeing close-up forms, shapes, and textures become a larger whole when the picture is unveiled in the final spread, and learn something about looking at art in the process. (glossary) (Picture book/nonfiction. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-8027-8617-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1996
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by Janice Boland & illustrated by G. Brian Karas ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1996
A book that will make young dog-owners smile in recognition and confirm dogless readers' worst suspicions about the mayhem caused by pets, even winsome ones. Sam, who bears passing resemblance to an affable golden retriever, is praised for fetching the family newspaper, and goes on to fetch every other newspaper on the block. In the next story, only the children love Sam's swimming; he is yelled at by lifeguards and fishermen alike when he splashes through every watering hole he can find. Finally, there is woe to the entire family when Sam is bored and lonely for one long night. Boland has an essential message, captured in both both story and illustrations of this Easy-to-Read: Kids and dogs belong together, especially when it's a fun-loving canine like Sam. An appealing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8037-1530-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996
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by Carson Ellis ; illustrated by Carson Ellis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 24, 2015
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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