The magic hour reveals the magical bond between a father and son.
A dad and his child share the time between sundown and dark exploring their world together.
Returning home from work and school, dad starts dinner while mom feeds the baby. But after dinner, it’s the titular Magic Hour, time for just father and the T-shirt–and-shorts–clad narrator to enjoy a post-dinner walk. As they wander, the protagonist’s red plastic bucket fills with found treasures that mark the highlights of the evening. A woman watering roses donates one after a playful sprinkle; the child pets a friendly dog, and then child and dad use the dog’s stick to play tic-tac-toe and to fence. They tickle each other with some bird feathers and swing hand in hand on the playground. Calm descends as the light in the illustrations fades. Crickets chirp; the duo catch fireflies in their hands. Dad swings the child up on his shoulders: “Together, we make a quiet giant / who can almost reach the moon.” The final page shows Mommy tucking the protagonist in. She has the rose and a daisy also gathered on the walk, and the bucket and treasures are prominently displayed. Rich’s characters are delightfully expressive, the narrator’s exuberance and wonder sometimes barely contained. And it’s clear that the father cherishes his bond with his child. All four family members have light-brown skin and dark hair; the people in their neighborhood are diverse.
The magic hour reveals the magical bond between a father and son. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5107-0791-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
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
Ready to fight boredom in a single bound, at least for a few minutes.
A small blond boy describes the many ways his nebbishy dad is a superhero.
From super snoring to super breakfasts (“toast with chocolate, and fruit, ice cream, and cake!”), this dad makes everything fun, playing dinosaurs, lifting and carrying his son, and building him an amazing (but rickety) wooden castle (not without a thumb injury, though, but he meant to do that!). These things might not seem like superhero deeds to most readers, and the narrator sees that question coming. He explains about the noises he hears at night in his room and how his dad comes in to rescue him with the flick of a light switch and his presence. “ ‘Superhero Dad,’ I say, / ‘you are the best by miles!’ / My dad says, / ‘I’m no Superhero,’ / then he stops and smiles. / ‘But I know a Superhero / who is brave and kind and fun. Who is it? // Why, it’s you! You are my SUPERHERO SON!’ ” It’s a sweet concept, but the execution is a little off. Knapman’s rhythm sometimes stumbles in his rhyming verses. Berger’s digital illustrations are filled with the bright colors that scream comics, though there aren’t as many sound effect balloons as one might expect from a superhero story. Both characters are white.
Ready to fight boredom in a single bound, at least for a few minutes. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 26, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-8657-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
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