A stylish and lovely perspective on happenstance.
A meditation on the not-so-accidental circumstances that bring us together.
Ellie, the hardest-working elevator on 74th Street, spends her days cheerfully ferrying residents from floor to floor. She loves her job and the occupants she provides bespoke service to; she modulates the volume of the music she plays for hard-of-hearing Mrs. Sanchez, and she patiently waits for Mr. Chen, who uses a cane. But no tenant is dearer than Thea, a fashionable, bespectacled adolescent. After Thea’s best friend relocates to the West Coast, Ellie kicks her care into overdrive, making each trip extra pleasant for the girl in an effort to ease her heartbreak. When her usual tricks don’t provide their intended lift, Ellie hatches a matchmaking plan, staging scenarios meant to foster friendship between Thea and a new neighbor named Claire and effecting kindnesses that go neither unnoticed nor unrewarded. A charming retro-futurism suffuses the story in both plot and aesthetic; Gehl’s comfortable and familiar narrative is an apt match for the vintage-feeling images that enliven our anthropomorphized protagonist. Imamura’s grounding use of negative space brings visual texture to each spread, as do the occasional pops of neon yellow that stipple an earth-toned palette. Ellie’s robotic visage is just subtle enough to make her reveal as the main character a delightful surprise, an unexpected start to an otherwise-understated tale. Thea presents East Asian, and Claire is Black; peripheral characters are diverse.
A stylish and lovely perspective on happenstance. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665905077
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends
Gerald the elephant learns a truth familiar to every preschooler—heck, every human: “Waiting is not easy!”
When Piggie cartwheels up to Gerald announcing that she has a surprise for him, Gerald is less than pleased to learn that the “surprise is a surprise.” Gerald pumps Piggie for information (it’s big, it’s pretty, and they can share it), but Piggie holds fast on this basic principle: Gerald will have to wait. Gerald lets out an almighty “GROAN!” Variations on this basic exchange occur throughout the day; Gerald pleads, Piggie insists they must wait; Gerald groans. As the day turns to twilight (signaled by the backgrounds that darken from mauve to gray to charcoal), Gerald gets grumpy. “WE HAVE WASTED THE WHOLE DAY!…And for WHAT!?” Piggie then gestures up to the Milky Way, which an awed Gerald acknowledges “was worth the wait.” Willems relies even more than usual on the slightest of changes in posture, layout and typography, as two waiting figures can’t help but be pretty static. At one point, Piggie assumes the lotus position, infuriating Gerald. Most amusingly, Gerald’s elephantine groans assume weighty physicality in spread-filling speech bubbles that knock Piggie to the ground. And the spectacular, photo-collaged images of the Milky Way that dwarf the two friends makes it clear that it was indeed worth the wait.
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends . (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-9957-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Approachable and comfortably predictable.
A young ghost arrives at Scare School.
Unlike big sister Bella, late bloomer Bash has never been good at “all the GHOST STUFF.” Dad’s sure that Scare School is just what Bash needs. Bash isn’t so certain; he’s intimidated by his classmates and teachers. But he perks up when he meets his roommate, Itsy, a smart, welcoming spider, though he vows to steer clear of mean-spirited Vlad and Vicky. Still, the dreaded Creature Aptitude Test worries Bash. To pass, he must pass through solid objects and turn himself invisible—skills he struggles with. Bash doesn’t want to be kicked out of school, so he’ll have to buckle down. With Itsy’s help and encouragement from his classmates, Bash realizes he’s more capable than he thought. Written in first person from endearingly anxious Bash’s point of view, the book has a diarylike feel. The text is presented in a handwritten font, while grayscale cartoon illustrations are peppered throughout. The supportive, sincere friendship between Bash and Itsy is the most compelling part of the story. Letters between Bash and Bella shed further light on Bash’s personality and their relationship. Though the book’s takeaway—believe in yourself, and you can do anything—is a familiar one, it’s just what many children need…and who better to deliver the message than an adorably nervous ghost?
Approachable and comfortably predictable. (Fiction. 6-8)Pub Date: July 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781665922098
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
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