A touching portrait of the fall season from two superb artists.
Author-illustrator duo Henkes and Dronzek extol the quiet splendors of autumn in this lyrical, exquisite complement to their previous seasonal outing, When Spring Comes (2016).
Its crown full of reddish-orange leaves, a tree stands against a gray sky. “In the middle of Fall, / when the leaves / have already turned,” the narrator begins. Measured and understated, Henkes’ text masterfully raises and stirs moods and sensations in pieces, each building on top of the other. A fair-skinned child in a red hooded sweatshirt and yellow boots sits on a swing, a brown dog sitting on the ground nearby. Squirrels scurry about, gardens wither, and pumpkins “are ready” as various children pluck them off the ground. All it takes is “just one big gust of wind,” says the wistful narrator, and suddenly “everything is yellow / and red / and orange.” Solid lines and deep autumnal colors abound in Dronzek’s gorgeous acrylic illustrations, which fill the spaces left untouched by the text. In pace and richness, text and pictures dreamily embody the essence of fall, which in this book marks a transition both bittersweet and inevitable. Enjoy the child and dog at play throughout these autumn landscapes, because before either of them knows it (and perhaps before readers realize it as well), change will come again.
A touching portrait of the fall season from two superb artists. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-257311-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on...
Continuing from their acclaimed Those Shoes (2007), Boelts and Jones entwine conversations on money, motives, and morality.
This second collaboration between author and illustrator is set within an urban multicultural streetscape, where brown-skinned protagonist Ruben wishes for a bike like his friend Sergio’s. He wishes, but Ruben knows too well the pressure his family feels to prioritize the essentials. While Sergio buys a pack of football cards from Sonny’s Grocery, Ruben must buy the bread his mom wants. A familiar lady drops what Ruben believes to be a $1 bill, but picking it up, to his shock, he discovers $100! Is this Ruben’s chance to get himself the bike of his dreams? In a fateful twist, Ruben loses track of the C-note and is sent into a panic. After finally finding it nestled deep in a backpack pocket, he comes to a sense of moral clarity: “I remember how it was for me when that money that was hers—then mine—was gone.” When he returns the bill to her, the lady offers Ruben her blessing, leaving him with double-dipped emotions, “happy and mixed up, full and empty.” Readers will be pleased that there’s no reward for Ruben’s choice of integrity beyond the priceless love and warmth of a family’s care and pride.
Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on children. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6649-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers.
Echoing the meter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Ward uses catchy original rhymes to describe the variety of nests birds create.
Each sweet stanza is complemented by a factual, engaging description of the nesting habits of each bird. Some of the notes are intriguing, such as the fact that the hummingbird uses flexible spider web to construct its cup-shaped nest so the nest will stretch as the chicks grow. An especially endearing nesting behavior is that of the emperor penguin, who, with unbelievable patience, incubates the egg between his tummy and his feet for up to 60 days. The author clearly feels a mission to impart her extensive knowledge of birds and bird behavior to the very young, and she’s found an appealing and attractive way to accomplish this. The simple rhymes on the left page of each spread, written from the young bird’s perspective, will appeal to younger children, and the notes on the right-hand page of each spread provide more complex factual information that will help parents answer further questions and satisfy the curiosity of older children. Jenkins’ accomplished collage illustrations of common bird species—woodpecker, hummingbird, cowbird, emperor penguin, eagle, owl, wren—as well as exotics, such as flamingoes and hornbills, are characteristically naturalistic and accurate in detail.
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers. (author’s note, further resources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2116-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
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