An excellent new tale reiterating an old—but still relevant—ecological issue.
A jaguar family must move from its area in the Amazon to a safer part, untouched by human machines, in this plea to save the rainforest.
Inti lives with his mother and sister, Chasca, in the Amazon rainforest. Giving a basic description of life as a jaguar cub through Inti’s voice, Ely (The Peaceable Forest, 2012) spends several pages of this picture book getting readers comfortable with the setting and enjoying the tranquility of the animals. But one day, everything changes with the appearance of “A sky machine! That means danger,” as Inti’s mother explains. Debut illustrator Gendron deftly captures the devastation; in contrast to the lush forest, the cleared land, logging machines, and pipeline are disturbingly out of place. Following their mother, Inti and Chasca deal with a poisoned river, farmland, and nightmares until reaching a safe new home. Although the playfulness in the jaguars’ expressions seems out of place in such a serious context, the details in their fur, the biodiversity of the landscape, and the beautiful colors make the gorgeous images worth returning to. A partial map of South America shows some of the rainforest’s vibrant residents, and a list of featured animals with short descriptions provides the audience with a delightful seek-and-find game to play. Ely’s text is at times intense and overly earnest, and her choice of Incan names for the modern-day Amazonians is an odd one. But the message resonates, and young environmentalists will likely gravitate to the cubs.
An excellent new tale reiterating an old—but still relevant—ecological issue.Pub Date: April 21, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-9996654-0-4
Page Count: -
Publisher: Chandra Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
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.
