edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins & illustrated by Melanie Hall ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2004
Adding to his successful I Can Read collection of poetry anthologies, Hopkins has compiled 12 verses related to the holiday from well-known authors such as Jane Yolen, Maria Fleming, and Lillian Fisher. Poems range from personal feelings of joy to those of wonder and awe. In the first poem by Fleming, entitled “Dizzy,” a euphoric sensation of twirling like a spinning top or dreidel is the main focus. Fisher’s “Hanukkah” shows all the holiday traditions as a remembrance of the miracle—“Bring the shamash, / light a candle, / say the ancient prayer. / Spin the dreidel, / give the gelt, / gather loved ones near. / Tell it again and marvel—‘A miracle happened here!’ ” Whimsical paintings full of swirls and curves in purples, blues, and greens complete the Judaic settings for each poem. Good, basic, and simple holiday reading. (index) (Easy reader/poetry. 5-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-06-008051-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2004
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by Sheila Hamanaka ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1994
This heavily earnest celebration of multi-ethnicity combines full-bleed paintings of smiling children, viewed through a golden haze dancing, playing, planting seedlings, and the like, with a hyperbolic, disconnected text—``Dark as leopard spots, light as sand,/Children buzz with laughter that kisses our land...''— printed in wavy lines. Literal-minded readers may have trouble with the author's premise, that ``Children come in all the colors of the earth and sky and sea'' (green? blue?), and most of the children here, though of diverse and mixed racial ancestry, wear shorts and T-shirts and seem to be about the same age. Hamanaka has chosen a worthy theme, but she develops it without the humor or imagination that animates her Screen of Frogs (1993). (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-688-11131-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1994
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by Alice Walstead ; illustrated by Andy Elkerton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 6, 2022
Sugary uplift, shrink-wrapped for the masses.
An elusive new quarry leads the How To Catch… kids on a merry chase through a natural history museum.
Taking at least a step away from the “hunters versus prey” vibe of previous entries in the popular series, the racially diverse group of young visitors dashes through various museum halls in pursuit of the eponymous dino—whose quest to “spread kindness and joy ’round the world” takes the form of a mildly tumultuous museum tour. In most of Elkerton’s overly sweet, color-saturated scenes, only portions of the Loveosaurus, who is purple and covered with pink hearts, are visible behind exhibits or lumbering off the page. But the children find small enticements left behind, from craft supplies to make cards for endangered species to pictures of smiley faces, candy heart–style personal notes (“You Rock!” “Give Hugs”), and, in the hall of medieval arms and armor, a sign urging them to “Be Honest Be Kind.” The somewhat heavy-handed lesson comes through loud and clear. “There’s a message, he wants us to think,” hints Walstead to clue in more obtuse readers…and concluding scenes of smiling people young and otherwise exchanging hugs and knuckle bumps, holding doors for a wheelchair rider, and dancing through clouds of sparkles indicate that they, at least, have gotten it. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Sugary uplift, shrink-wrapped for the masses. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2022
ISBN: 9781728268781
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
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