A subtle but potent look at the ephemeral nature of life—and a reminder to cherish memories.
There are ghosts all around us if you look hard enough.
When a child stays with a beloved grandparent, the two spend their time working in the garden. The youngster, who narrates, notes that there's at least one ghost residing in their green space, evidenced by overturned pots and little trinkets left behind. As Grandpa and child, both light-skinned, continue to work, they reflect upon the whereabouts of these phantoms, on times gone by (“at the back of the house…there was an old bathtub…I would sit in…enjoying the sun like a sleepy turtle,” Grandpa tells the child), and on the beauty of just being. As the child’s visit comes to an end, the pair re-create the bathtub from Grandpa’s past using the very flora they so lovingly tended to; they sit in it and contemplate together. This quiet yet powerful book perfectly captures the emotional resonance of fleeting moments and the imprints they leave behind. Maclear’s stunning text is lengthy yet deliberately paced (“memory has a geography just like the world”), suggesting the meandering feeling of revisiting memories. Rendered in a light, earthy palette, Maurey’s dreamy gouache illustrations are a natural complement to the text, further evoking feelings of stillness, remembrance, and the strong yet gentle bonds of family.
A subtle but potent look at the ephemeral nature of life—and a reminder to cherish memories. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2024
ISBN: 9781592704057
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
A nicely inventive little morality “tail” for newly independent readers.
Two little rats decide to show the world how tough they are, with unpredictable results.
Louie and Ralphie Ratso want to be just like their single dad, Big Lou: tough! They know that “tough” means doing mean things to other animals, like stealing Chad Badgerton’s hat. Chad Badgerton is a big badger, so taking that hat from him proves that Louie and Ralphie are just as tough as they want to be. However, it turns out that Louie and Ralphie have just done a good deed instead of a bad one: Chad Badgerton had taken that hat from little Tiny Crawley, a mouse, so when Tiny reclaims it, they are celebrated for goodness rather than toughness. Sadly, every attempt Louie and Ralphie make at doing mean things somehow turns nice. What’s a little boy rat supposed to do to be tough? Plus, they worry about what their dad will say when he finds out how good they’ve been. But wait! Maybe their dad has some other ideas? LaReau keeps the action high and completely appropriate for readers embarking on chapter books. Each of the first six chapters features a new, failed attempt by Louie and Ralphie to be mean, and the final, seventh chapter resolves everything nicely. The humor springs from their foiled efforts and their reactions to their failures. Myers’ sprightly grayscale drawings capture action and characters and add humorous details, such as the Ratsos’ “unwelcome” mat.
A nicely inventive little morality “tail” for newly independent readers. (Fiction. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7636-0
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy.
Robo-parents Diode and Lugnut present daughter Cathode with a new little brother—who requires, unfortunately, some assembly.
Arriving in pieces from some mechanistic version of Ikea, little Flange turns out to be a cute but complicated tyke who immediately falls apart…and then rockets uncontrollably about the room after an overconfident uncle tinkers with his basic design. As a squad of helpline techies and bevies of neighbors bearing sludge cake and like treats roll in, the cluttered and increasingly crowded scene deteriorates into madcap chaos—until at last Cath, with help from Roomba-like robodog Sprocket, stages an intervention by whisking the hapless new arrival off to a backyard workshop for a proper assembly and software update. “You’re such a good big sister!” warbles her frazzled mom. Wiesner’s robots display his characteristic clean lines and even hues but endearingly look like vaguely anthropomorphic piles of random jet-engine parts and old vacuum cleaners loosely connected by joints of armored cable. They roll hither and thither through neatly squared-off panels and pages in infectiously comical dismay. Even the end’s domestic tranquility lasts only until Cathode spots the little box buried in the bigger one’s packing material: “TWINS!” (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 52% of actual size.)
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-544-98731-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
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