Yaccarino’s illustrations create a memorable visual puzzle to accompany Godwin’s text, recalling such titles as Ann Jonas’s Round Trip (1983) and Charles Shaw’s It Looked Like Spilt Milk (1947). A little white dog has disappeared, part of the snow, with only a black dot of an eye and a pointed nose to help readers find him. Other animals friends of his also fade away: A blue bird is all but invisible against the blue sky; a brown horse gallops imperceptibly across brown gravel; a black cat is lost against a pitch-black sky. Yaccarino leaves out the defining outlines of his creatures, until “TURN ON THE LIGHT!” A flashlight appears in the pages and shows the proper shapes of the entire menagerie. The bold graphic style is easy on children, but pleasing for adult onlookers as well. Details, such as the black cat’s extremely long shadow, and the little white dog’s trail of black footprints, are evidence of fine-tuning on an already well-synchronized concept. (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: May 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-7868-0297-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The message is universal, and the words can’t be said enough. The bears are certainly stand-ins for any adoring mother-child...
Though expressed by a mother polar bear in the snowy Arctic, this is a very warm message of love to a small child.
In quiet, lilting verse, the bear mother assures her little one that she will always be there, no matter what the circumstances—sharing in her tot’s happiness, consoling her in sad and scary times, finding her when she’s lost, and always encouraging her hopes and dreams. The best part, of course, is mom’s heartfelt promise that she will love her child forever. The simple digital illustrations are sweet and comforting, usually rendered in stark white and black against muted background hues; most feature close-ups of mother and child embracing or enjoying activities in each other’s company. Some scenes are particularly striking—one spread depicts a bold, blue night sky with a bright full moon casting the duo’s reflections on still water; another spread shows the bears marveling at the vivid colors of the aurora borealis—but the general quietness of the artwork reflects the gentleness of a mother’s calm, heartfelt assurances.
The message is universal, and the words can’t be said enough. The bears are certainly stand-ins for any adoring mother-child pair. (Final, foil-embellished art not seen.) (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7132-7
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Templar/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2013
Rarely, perhaps never, has so steep an emotional arc been drawn with such utter, winning simplicity.
A little dog and her big ball map an inner life rich in heights of joy and depths of sorrow.
Sticking strictly to pictures—using neutral washes and just a few colors applied in broad, rumpled brushstrokes—Raschka follows floppy-eared Daisy and her large red ball on a walk to the park and a happy chase. Then disaster strikes, when a rougher dog horns in and pops the ball. Even very young viewers will feel Daisy’s pain as she passes in stages through incomprehension, dismay and anger to, at last, a bone-deep sadness that is brilliantly evoked by successive views of the droopy dog slowly sinking into a sofa’s cushions. Doggy delight rekindles, however, when another visit to the park finds the offending pooch and its owner waiting…with a new, blue ball! The final scene of Daisy and ball snuggled together on the sofa positively radiates canine content.
Rarely, perhaps never, has so steep an emotional arc been drawn with such utter, winning simplicity. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: May 10, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-375-85861-1
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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