The cycle of generations in an African village: A little boy who enjoys a toothless old man's stories asks, ``Were you ever a little boy?'' and is incredulous when he's told that ``Inside this old, old man...lives a very little boy.'' Time passes, and he lives to give his own grandson the same answer to the same question, and hear him respond with the same laughter. The story's universality is reinforced by its sparing use of detail— a technique echoed in Shaffer's powerful illustrations, presenting her sensitively portrayed characters against simple backdrops of warm earth, pale sky, and an occasional hut. Fine debuts for both author and artist. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 30, 1992
ISBN: 0-689-31735-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1992
Langreuter and Dahle’s gentle story fails to cover any new ground, but readers will relate to Brayden’s experience and...
In this German import, a bunny is convinced that living with his friends will be easier and more enjoyable than obeying the rules at home.
Late one morning, Brayden is reluctant to get out of bed, pick up his toys, wash his whiskers or play with his sisters. He grumbles to his mother, “I wish I could go live with my friends.…I wouldn’t have to do chores.” When his mother asks him if this is really what he wants to do, he picks up his backpack and leaves. All of Brayden’s friends’ families warmly welcome him, but no one scratches his ears “like Mommy does.” No place is exactly right: Missy Mouse’s house is too messy, with toys everywhere; Benny Badger’s family smells “a little funny” because they never wash up; Fipsi Squirrel’s home is too high up in the tree to climb. Cousin Pepi’s house seems perfect until Brayden gets “a curious lump in his bunny throat,…an odd tugging in his bunny tummy [and] a strange jabbing in his bunny heart.” Readers will immediately understand what is happening—he is missing his home and his mommy. Soon, Brayden returns, and Mommy Bunny lovingly welcomes him with a perfect scratch on his ears.
Langreuter and Dahle’s gentle story fails to cover any new ground, but readers will relate to Brayden’s experience and perhaps develop a better appreciation for the comforts and rules of home. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4126-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: Oct. 9, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It takes a village to make a school. In Chad, big brothers and sisters lead the way for younger children on the first day of school. Little Thomas is full of questions. When he and the other children arrive, there are no classrooms and no desks. But the teacher's there, holding a trowel. "We will build our school," she declares. Everyone sets to work, making mud bricks that dry in the sun and a roof out of grass and saplings. Thomas loves his lessons; every day he learns something new. At the end of the school year, the minds of the students "are fat with knowledge." And just in time: The rainy season arrives and makes short work of the schoolhouse. Come September, they'll start all over. Rumford's illustrations make great use of color, dark brown skin and bright shirts, shorts and dresses against golden backgrounds, the hues applied in smudgy layers that infuse each scene with warmth—until the gray rains arrive. It's a nifty social-studies lesson tucked into a warm tale of community. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-547-24307-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2010
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