by Kerstin Hau ; illustrated by Julie Völk ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 3, 2019
An unusual, tender, and emotional journey in and out of the shadows.
Two creatures venture out of their respective realms, one of complete darkness and the other all sunshine, as their friendship grows.
Shaggy (twiggy, tall, and bristled) sadly peers through the darkness to the “place of shining colors,” wishing he could visit; Sparkle (egg shaped, with lop ears and pink cheeks) takes a sunbath and wonders about the “dark and gloomy” across the way. When the two eventually meet in the “band of gray-blue—[the] half light and half dark” middle space, a friendship forms, one that emboldens them to cross borders. Children will enjoy exploring both territories, mysterious, airy, otherworldly places drawn in what looks like pencil and crayon atop cyanotype backgrounds. Cyanotype illustrations make use of solar paper to create saturated exposures of midnight blue, with objects and etchings appearing in a ghostly white. Backmatter explains this unusual process (and also provides step-by-step DIY directions) in clear, accessible language for children keen to learn. How clever to harness a medium dependent upon light and dark, one that renders exquisite artwork in both the inkiest blues and most luminous whites! This moving picture book offers many metaphors and connections, allowing young readers to see how friends help us navigate happy and sad times, worlds of darkness and light manageable only with a lantern of friendship to light the way.
An unusual, tender, and emotional journey in and out of the shadows. (Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4385-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
Share your opinion of this book
by Claudia Mills ; illustrated by Rob Shepperson ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 14, 2016
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading.
When Franklin School principal Mr. Boone announces a pet-show fundraiser, white third-grader Cody—whose lack of skill and interest in academics is matched by keen enthusiasm for and knowledge of animals—discovers his time to shine.
As with other books in this series, the children and adults are believable and well-rounded. Even the dialogue is natural—no small feat for a text easily accessible to intermediate readers. Character growth occurs, organically and believably. Students occasionally, humorously, show annoyance with teachers: “He made mad squinty eyes at Mrs. Molina, which fortunately she didn’t see.” Readers will be kept entertained by Cody’s various problems and the eventual solutions. His problems include needing to raise $10 to enter one of his nine pets in the show (he really wants to enter all of them), his troublesome dog Angus—“a dog who ate homework—actually, who ate everything and then threw up afterward”—struggles with homework, and grappling with his best friend’s apparently uncaring behavior toward a squirrel. Serious values and issues are explored with a light touch. The cheery pencil illustrations show the school’s racially diverse population as well as the memorable image of Mr. Boone wearing an elephant costume. A minor oddity: why does a child so immersed in animal facts call his male chicken a rooster but his female chickens chickens?
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-374-30223-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
Share your opinion of this book
More by Claudia Mills
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
by Claudia Mills ; illustrated by Grace Zong
BOOK REVIEW
by Claudia Mills ; illustrated by Grace Zong
by Deborah Zemke ; illustrated by Deborah Zemke ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2019
A funny and timely primer for budding activists.
Problems are afoot at Emily Dickinson Elementary School, and it’s up to Bea Garcia to gather the troops and fight.
Bea Garcia and her best friend, Judith Einstein, sit every day under the 250-year-old oak tree in their schoolyard and imagine a face in its trunk. They name it “Emily” after their favorite American poet. Bea loves to draw both real and imagined pictures of their favorite place—the squirrels in the tree, the branches that reach for the sky, the view from the canopy even though she’s never climbed that high. Until the day a problem boy does climb that high, pelting the kids with acorns and then getting stuck. Bert causes such a scene that the school board declares Emily a nuisance and decides to chop it down. Bea and Einstein rally their friends with environmental facts, poetry, and artwork to try to convince the adults in their lives to change their minds. Bea must enlist Bert if she wants her plan to succeed. Can she use her imagination and Bert’s love of monsters to get him in line? In Bea’s fourth outing, Zemke gently encourages her protagonist to grow from an artist into an activist. Her energy and passion spill from both her narration and her frequent cartoons, which humorously extend the text. Spanish-speaking Bea’s Latinx, Einstein and Bert present white, and their classmates are diverse.
A funny and timely primer for budding activists. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 6-9)Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7352-2941-9
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
Share your opinion of this book
More by Robin Newman
BOOK REVIEW
by Robin Newman ; illustrated by Deborah Zemke
BOOK REVIEW
by Ian Lendler ; illustrated by Deborah Zemke
BOOK REVIEW
by Deborah Zemke ; illustrated by Deborah Zemke
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.