More a 21st-century meditation on selfhood than an encouragement to quiet observation.
A light-skinned, blond boy and his light-skinned, brown-haired mother wander through the woods, looking at birds.
Presumably in an effort to encourage observation and to allow the child to relate to wildlife, they play a (awkwardly worded) game called “Am I Like You?” in which they address the questions “What birds are like us? / What birds are we like?” The illustrations are skillfully drawn, bold, and Disney-esque in aesthetic, clearly and accurately portraying characteristics of common North American birds: American robin, chickadee, cardinal, blue jay, red-tailed hawk, hummingbird, Canada goose, mallard, great blue heron, pigeon, and owl. However if the intention of this book is to introduce characteristics of birds to young children, it falls short. The text consists of poorly scanned, sometimes confusing verse that anthropomorphizes birds but does little to illuminate their true characteristics and habits, in some cases even obscuring them. This book seems to bend over backward to popularize nature study and in doing so, dumbs it down by providing too little factual information for a curious child or for a teacher or parent to share with a young reader. Surely the resources of the publisher, the respected Cornell Lab of Ornithology, could be tapped to provide a child-friendly technical guide to the birds portrayed.
More a 21st-century meditation on selfhood than an encouragement to quiet observation. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-943645-03-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cornell Lab Publishing Group
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
Share this feel-good title with those who love art and those who can appreciate the confidence-building triumph of solving a...
Reynolds returns to a favorite topic—creative self-expression—with characteristic skill in a companion title to The Dot (2003) and Ish (2004).
Marisol is “an artist through and through. So when her teacher told her class they were going to paint a mural…, Marisol couldn’t wait to begin.” As each classmate claims a part of the picture to paint, Marisol declares she will “paint the sky.” But she soon discovers there is no blue paint and wonders what she will do without the vital color. Up to this point, the author uses color sparingly—to accent a poster or painting of Marisol’s or to highlight the paint jars on a desk. During her bus ride home, Marisol wonders what to do and stares out the window. The next spread reveals a vibrant departure from the gray tones of the previous pages. Reds, oranges, lemon yellows and golds streak across the sunset sky. Marisol notices the sky continuing to change in a rainbow of colors…except blue. After awakening from a colorful dream to a gray rainy day, Marisol smiles. With a fervent mixing of paints, she creates a beautiful swirling sky that she describes as “sky color.” Fans of Reynolds will enjoy the succinct language enhanced by illustrations in pen, ink, watercolor, gouache and tea.
Share this feel-good title with those who love art and those who can appreciate the confidence-building triumph of solving a problem on one’s own—creatively. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7636-2345-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Sweet fare for bed- or naptimes, with a light frosting of natural history.
A sonorous, soporific invitation to join woodland creatures in bedding down for the night.
As in her Moon Babies, illustrated by Amy Hevron (2019), Jameson displays a rare gift for harmonious language and rhyme. She leads off with a bear: “Come home, Big Paws. / Berry picker / Honey trickster / Shadows deepen in the glen. / Lumber back inside your den.” Continuing in the same pattern, she urges a moose (“Velvet Nose”), a deer (“Tiny Hooves”), and a succession of ever smaller creatures to find their nooks and nests as twilight deepens in Boutavant’s woodsy, autumnal scenes and snow begins to drift down. Through each of those scenes quietly walks an alert White child (accompanied by an unusually self-controlled pooch), peering through branches or over rocks at the animals in the foregrounds and sketching them in a notebook. The observer’s turn comes round at last, as a bearded parent beckons: “This way, Small Boots. / Brave trailblazer / Bright stargazer / Cabin’s toasty. Blanket’s soft. / Snuggle deep in sleeping loft.” The animals go unnamed, leaving it to younger listeners to identify each one from the pictures…if they can do so before the verses’ murmurous tempo closes their eyes.
Sweet fare for bed- or naptimes, with a light frosting of natural history. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7063-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
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