A story of a girl, a cottage, and a family tradition that begs to be visited again and again.
Like a cottage quilt, rhythmic stanzas and vintage-style illustrations are stitched together with memories and love.
Lyrical, not-quite-rhyming text tells the simple yet touching story of a girl with brown skin and straight, black hair who visits a special blue cottage every summer with her interracial family. Shared activities (waterskiing, beach play, and cycling) and meals (pancakes) convey the closeness in this family. In the summer, the girl escapes the warm cottage to play on the beach; during torrential storms, she hides within the cottage walls, peering out at the high whitecaps. The cottage, serving as a secondary character, awaits the girl’s return each year, as well as the sights, sounds, and smells that accompany her visit. Alternating between vignettes and broad spreads, illustrations that recall the stylings of Virginia Lee Burton and Barbara Cooney have the texture and appearance of colored pencil. Muted earth tones dominate, and prints and patterns also adorn each thoughtfully composed spread, adding to the layered visual appeal of the book. Eventually the girl grows up and no longer visits, and the cottage falls into neglect, nearly disappearing into the surrounding vegetation. The book ends as it began, with a second multiracial generation returning to the little blue cottage, to restore its timeless splendor and build new memories.
A story of a girl, a cottage, and a family tradition that begs to be visited again and again. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: May 12, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-62414-923-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
A sensitive, loving variation on a perennial picture-book theme.
A timorous fledgling needs some gentle persuasion when it’s time to leave the nest.
“You’ve outgrown this woven home,” says a mother bird. “It’s time to fly!” But the sky is so big, the nest so safe and cozy…even a quick flutter to a nearby branch seems too much. “Don’t you want to see the meadow? / Taste new bugs beside the creek?” “Nest is best. / Maybe next week.” Capturing both the lyrical quality of Lyon’s rhymed colloquy and a sense of how scary the wide world looks to the little bird, Coleman offers spare, delicately detailed views of an adult robin and her mottled offspring on separate leafy twigs suspended against a seemingly boundless sky or, sometimes, a broad expanse of white space. Instead of resorting to force, the mother wisely allows the little bird to persuade themselves (“My sister and my brother flew. / I guess if they can, I can too!”) and take the leap: “I’m on my way // to everywhere!” Similar in message if very different in tone to Drew Sheneman’s more theatrical Nope! (2016), this kinder, gentler alternative reassures both prospective grads and younger children heading off to preschool or day care that they are ready to take wing. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A sensitive, loving variation on a perennial picture-book theme. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: July 26, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-7410-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
Beneficial and pleasant, if uninspired.
An ode to fathers of all sorts.
“Every daddy is different!” So goes the refrain found sporadically before page turns throughout this book. It's also the central message, one that's captured in the illustrations, which feature fathers who range in terms of race, appearance, age, and ability. The brightly colored and modern artwork is pleasing, if somewhat pedestrian. The text includes challenging terms, such as multisyllabic or concept words, as well as less common words and phrases (whistling, dense, and protective gear). Commendably, the book reinforces the reality that fathers and father figures aren't always a biological relation and may not be a primary caregiver: "Some daddies are yours from the time you are born. Others are favorite grownups, chosen for a special day...or all your life. Some pick you. Some you pick. Others share you with another daddy." The point is well expressed and illustrated, but for all the book does well, text and art lack vivacity, and it’s unlikely that children will be clamoring for this one. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Beneficial and pleasant, if uninspired. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: May 17, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5064-6056-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Beaming Books
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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