When a boy reads a book about birds, his imagination takes flight. Multicolored acrylic paintings on bright, spare backgrounds narrow the focus straight to the boy and his dreams of taking wing with some colorful feathered friends. When asked, the boy’s father explains that the boy can’t fly because he doesn’t have wings—he has arms and hands instead. More “why” questions follow, resulting in the boy being hugged, swung and tossed, until he soars through the air with the help of his father. The minimal, dialogue-only text works well, allowing readers to immerse themselves in the illustrations and perhaps add some description of their own. Sitting together in an armchair, the boy and his father then embark on a new reading selection about fish. Questions about fins seem sure to follow! An engaging and effective father-son story in which the main characters are black and race is not presented as an issue, this is a charming introduction to the worlds of books, birds and imagination, and an apt choice for parent-child reading. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-56145-430-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2009
Full of humor and action, with easily recognizable emotions.
A nearly wordless graphic picture book illustrates the angst of a fledgling whose parent is determined to see it take its first flight.
The double-page spread encompassing the title page shows a small, comical bird sitting in a nest of twigs, dubiously eyeing a larger bird who flies above it with a facial expression of avian bliss. There follows a series of panels that show long-distance views of the larger bird gracefully landing in the nest occupied by, apparently, its progeny. The next double-page spread shows a single aerial view, with the little bird gazing far down to the earth. On the ensuing pages, the little bird exhibits high anxiety and clings to its parent with a large speech bubble that proclaims the titular “NOPE!” Over the course of the book, the little one—through pastel-tinged images in thought bubbles—imagines all the possible terrors it may encounter venturing from the nest, while its parent continues to encourage it to leave. There are occasional sound-effect words, such as “shake” and “flap,” and there is a full page of “no” in several different languages. Most of the story is told exclusively with the funny facial expressions and body language of two birds at cross purposes. The simple message is clear, and the humorous animals are foregrounded against pretty green and blue watercolor settings. Naturally, “nope” eventually changes to “yep.”
Full of humor and action, with easily recognizable emotions. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-99731-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2016
Sure to worm its way into readers’ hearts.
A warm, witty, wonderful worm tale.
When Mrs. Worm has the bright idea of taking a family portrait, her eldest daughter, Emma, is very excited. That feeling fades, however, when Emma worries that their picture won’t be special like those of her friends’ families. They can’t smile like the beavers since they don’t have teeth. They can’t style their hair to be fluffy like a cat’s since they don’t have hair. They can’t be colorful like a family of butterflies. Or can they? Emma comes up with a plan to deck her family out in wigs, clothes, and fake teeth, but then they just don’t look like themselves—as the muskrat photographer comically points out when he doesn’t even recognize them. Throughout, Stein’s expressive, sly, wobbly-lined art enhances the humor of Frank’s text with details that will delight readers, such as the worms’ use of piles of earth to blanket them as they sleep upon rooted carrots in their underground home or the worm parents’ use of a simple sling to carry the baby of the family. When the worm family sheds itself of Emma’s costuming, they come up with an ingenious plan to get “into a delightful pose only a worm family could make,” the illustration of which will surely bring smiles to readers’ faces. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 21.4% of actual size.)
Sure to worm its way into readers’ hearts. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12478-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Anne Schwartz/Random
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
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