A contemplative, poignant rendering of everyday journeys.
A mass-transit vehicle conveys the life of a metropolis from dawn to dusk.
In this picture book, a subway train shares intimate stories while ferrying passengers around Seoul. Its mechanical, rhythmic, motion—“ba-dum, ba-dum”—echoes the city’s heartbeat, pulsating through a collective memory and quotidian history. Together, readers encounter myriad travelers and glimpse individual lives: Mr. Wanju rushing to and from work, yearning to be with his daughter; Granny returning from the sea with the morning’s catch to “cook a feast for [her] girls”; Lee Do-young, age 29, jobless, “not sure what’s next.” Watercolor washes establish figures and shapes at once suggestive and formalistic; artful lines and gradations detail features, facial expressions, and hairstyles, defining unique human beings amid a sea of anonymity. Jung Yu-seon—former “cry-baby, sleepy-head, scaredy-cat”—whirls between household chores and child care, maintaining a frenetic pace from which she takes respite in the subway’s “embrace.” As a witness, this anthropomorphized vehicle poetically parallels the cobbler Mr. Jae-sung, because they both can “tell so much about a person just from looking at their shoes” and “guess the paths they might have walked.” Reflective observations, along with the circuitous route, create dynamic tension against the train’s linear trajectory and the passage of time, prompting readers to pause—and perhaps ponder the fleeting encounters with “strangers you might never meet again.”
A contemplative, poignant rendering of everyday journeys. (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-950354-65-8
Page Count: 52
Publisher: Scribble
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
A fact-filled, candid, and reassuring introduction to the ins and outs of hospitals.
Hospital workers truly do heroic work.
Tomorrow’s Parade Day in Breezy Valley, a city populated by anthropomorphic animals, but its sick and injured residents still need help. At the hospital, doctors, nurses, and other vital personnel spring into action. As this fast-paced book unfolds, readers follow the activities of numerous hospital heroes as well as an especially important patient. Lemur, the parade’s bandleader, has an injury (as he tells doctors, “My drum kerplopped on my tail”). A simple operation sets things right, but he must remain in the hospital overnight. Will the parade be canceled? No! Several hospital heroes “operate” on the drum so that all will proceed as scheduled—but not before Lemur leads a special Thank You Concert for the staff. In painstaking detail, Alley explains virtually everything that curious kids might want to know about hospitals, relying on both text and numerous labels and arrows. Reminiscent of Richard Scarry’s work, the jam-packed, busy illustrations often appear in graphic novel–like panels, with characters’ dialogue conveyed in colorful speech bubbles. While the diminutive pictorial labels are sometimes overwhelming, the information, delivered in a matter-of-fact, upbeat tone, will allay reader apprehension, and the parade angle provides a cheerful backdrop. The all-animal cast exudes sunny professionalism; sound effects are liberally incorporated into the artwork.
A fact-filled, candid, and reassuring introduction to the ins and outs of hospitals. (quiz, additional hospital facts) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9781662670299
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Kane Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An honest look at motherhood in the contemporary era and a sweet tribute to the bond between mother and child.
Grammy-winning, multiplatinum singer/songwriter Rowland teams up with California teacher McKay to celebrate busy moms.
This picture book highlights a mother’s frequent longing to be with her child when life’s demands pull them apart. The story takes us through a busy Black mom’s week: She goes to work (at a construction site where she appears to be an engineer), works from home on her son’s sick day, takes him to a museum, and shares domestic duties with her Black male partner, who is a nurse. She encounters many bumps in the road that will be familiar to working parents. Each day, she gently reassures her son with a lyrical refrain: “Always with you, / Always with me, / Mommy and child / Together we’ll be.” This tender story, narrated in the voice of a mother addressing her child, pulls at the heartstrings. Liem’s digital artwork uses a warm palette and has a calming quality. The characters’ body language and heartfelt facial expressions are spot-on. This book will resonate with any mom who knows the heartache of having to say goodbye to their child or who has faced the teary-eyed frustration of a youngster experiencing separation anxiety. Young readers, on the other hand, will find solace in the reassuring narrative. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An honest look at motherhood in the contemporary era and a sweet tribute to the bond between mother and child. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: April 26, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-46551-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
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