Cue applause for this picture book about a Sikh girl who loves music.
Sangeet loves music, both composing and playing all kinds of instruments, including the tablay, which are traditional Indian drums.
One day, on the school playground, Sangeet notices the amazing sounds that are all around her. She hears the squeak of the swings, the creak of the teeter-totter, and the voices of her fellow students. All of the sounds come together in her mind to form a brand new beat. After school, she races home to try the beat out on her tablay. But when she plays it, she realizes that the beat isn’t quite complete: Something is definitely missing. What could it be? Sangeet practices and practices, even dreaming about the beat, but she still can’t quite figure out what she needs to finish the rhythm. When her beloved grandmother comes to visit, she hopes that she’ll find the answer. Dadiji is a talented musician who has performed all over the world. In the end, Dadiji’s advice—though unexpected—is exactly what Sangeet needs to finish her brand new beat. The book’s joyful storyline is complemented by vibrant, cartoonlike illustrations that have a homespun feel. The prose is uneven at times, but the underlying messages are clearly and cleverly communicated. Although Sangeet’s heritage is never explicitly mentioned, names and visual details (such as Sangeet’s uncut hair and her father’s and grandmother’s turbans) suggest that she and her family are Sikh; they live in a racially diverse North American community.
Cue applause for this picture book about a Sikh girl who loves music. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-989996-05-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Rebel Mountain Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series.
Another creature is on the loose.
The long-running series continues its successful formula with this Hallmark card of a book, which features bright illustrations and catchy rhymes. This time, the mythical creature the racially diverse children set out to catch is an absent mom who does it all (lists of descriptors include the words banker, caregiver, nurse, doctor, driver, chef, housekeeper, teacher, entertainer, playmate, laundry service, problem solver, handywoman, cleaner, and alarm clock) but doesn’t seem to have a job outside the home and is inexplicably a dinosaur. As the children prepare gifts and a meal for her, the text becomes an ode to the skills the Mamasaurus possesses (“Day or night she’s always there. / She meets every wish and need”) and values she instills (“Sometimes life can mean hard work,” “kindness matters,” and “what counts is doing your best”). This well-intentioned selection veers into cliche generously sprinkled with saccharine but manages to redeem itself with its appreciation for mothers and all that they may do. Endpapers include a “to” and “from” page framed in a heart, as well as a page where young gift givers or recipients can draw a picture of their Mamasaurus.
A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781728274300
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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