An enjoyable, nicely illustrated animal tale emphasizing individuality, nature’s beauty, and the importance of friendship.
A lonesome squirrel celebrates the offerings of the forest and seeks a pal in this picture book.
Olly, a red squirrel, is crestfallen when the gray squirrels reject him. They laugh and say, “You’re not like us. Go away!” When Olly returns to his oak tree home, he finds an acorn etched with lines that look like a smiling face. Olly feels grateful for this “reminder that he was not alone.” When he connects “as kindred spirits” with a human White boy walking through the forest, Olly takes the visitor’s presence as an omen: “The forest had sent” the boy “to heal his lonely heart.” Meanwhile, the gray squirrels feel ashamed for mistreating Olly. When Olly sees that they are unhappy, he shows them his acorn in hopes of helping them “feel better.” Olly’s “dark and sad” world has “revealed its true colors,” and he is thrilled to befriend the other squirrels. He acknowledges “how wonderful it is to be kind and share.” In Soares’ engaging story, Olly is a sweet and thoughtful protagonist. Readers will root for his happiness as he appreciates nature’s gifts and even nobly offers the other squirrels an opportunity to redeem themselves. Volgina’s lovely, realistic illustrations feature watercolor backdrops and lifelike details, including the squirrels’ fur. Color is incorporated skillfully. Scenes feature muted tones when Olly feels bleak. When he is cheerier, the images burst with red-tinged accents.
An enjoyable, nicely illustrated animal tale emphasizing individuality, nature’s beauty, and the importance of friendship.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-4-910769-01-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Honey Bunny Amigurumis Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 8, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
A funny and timely primer for budding activists.
Problems are afoot at Emily Dickinson Elementary School, and it’s up to Bea Garcia to gather the troops and fight.
Bea Garcia and her best friend, Judith Einstein, sit every day under the 250-year-old oak tree in their schoolyard and imagine a face in its trunk. They name it “Emily” after their favorite American poet. Bea loves to draw both real and imagined pictures of their favorite place—the squirrels in the tree, the branches that reach for the sky, the view from the canopy even though she’s never climbed that high. Until the day a problem boy does climb that high, pelting the kids with acorns and then getting stuck. Bert causes such a scene that the school board declares Emily a nuisance and decides to chop it down. Bea and Einstein rally their friends with environmental facts, poetry, and artwork to try to convince the adults in their lives to change their minds. Bea must enlist Bert if she wants her plan to succeed. Can she use her imagination and Bert’s love of monsters to get him in line? In Bea’s fourth outing, Zemke gently encourages her protagonist to grow from an artist into an activist. Her energy and passion spill from both her narration and her frequent cartoons, which humorously extend the text. Spanish-speaking Bea’s Latinx, Einstein and Bert present white, and their classmates are diverse.
A funny and timely primer for budding activists. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 6-9)Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7352-2941-9
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
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