An uncomplicated depiction of maternal love aimed at Christian readers.
A mother’s kiss follows a child from playtime to the hidden corners of his dreams in this debut children’s book.
Dahlseng depicts an evening experience most parents will recognize, featuring an adventuresome child who isn’t quite ready to go to bed. The boy’s primary tactic to delay his bedtime is hiding in unusual places where his mother can’t find him. She looks for him in haystacks and flower beds, but he manages to sneak away to the meadow. Without a trace of frustration, the mother assures him that even if she can’t catch him herself, she can blow him a kiss that will follow him into slumber. The title appears as a refrain as the mother searches for her son and during his adventures while sleeping. His charming romps expand to include children everywhere, in their dreams and at rest in cozy places around the world. Illustrations show children frolicking in meadows and across deserts, then curling up under shells at the bottom of the ocean and on clouds in the sky. The mother’s kiss floats on a continuous stream that weaves through each scene’s background—a pastel-colored plume that sparkles and shimmers with unconditional love. The story concludes with a wisp of divine intervention, as God’s kiss floats down on the sleeping boy’s bed, with the same power of love as his mother’s. The final page then offers a biblical verse (Romans 8:38-39) about God’s universal love. Full-color illustrations with clean lines show timeless settings around the world, as young boys and girls tend sheep, float on rafts and wrestle with sled dogs. All of Tufan’s characters have thick hair, doe eyes and slender limbs—features that feel similar to those of animated characters in kids’ movies. Italicized words work well as points of emphasis, particularly when reading the book aloud. Although the story’s simple structure deviates little from that of the opening scene, its easy rhythm and bright pictures will likely entertain youngsters, including infants and toddlers.
An uncomplicated depiction of maternal love aimed at Christian readers.Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2014
ISBN: 978-0615987040
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whetword Press LLC
Review Posted Online: Sept. 26, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Pitamic bites off more than she can chew with this instructional art volume, but its core projects will excite in the right context. Twelve pieces of fine art inspire two art projects apiece. Matisse’s The Snail opens the Color section; after history and analysis, there’s one project arranging multicolored tissue-paper squares and one project adding hue to white paint to create stripes of value gradation. These creative endeavors exploring value, shade, texture and various media will exhilarate young artists—but only with at best semi-successful results, as they require an adult dedicated to both advance material procurement and doing the artwork along with the child. Otherwise, complex instructions plus a frequent requirement to draw or trace realistically will cause frustration. Much of the text is above children’s heads, errors of terminology and reproduction detract and the links between the famous pieces and the projects are imprecise. However, an involved adult and an enterprising child aged seven to ten will find many of the projects fabulously challenging and rewarding. Art In Action 2 (ISBN: 978-0-7641-441-7) publishes simultaneously. (artist biographies, glossary, location of originals) (Nonfiction. Adults)
Pub Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7641-4440-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Barron's
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2010
A rural, pleasantly ramshackle garage is the setting for this lively book. Each spread features the station and its forecourt, with a flurry of activity accompanying each turn of the page: The garage opens up for the day; a bashed-in car arrives; a brief squall soaks a lady, her swain, and their tony convertible. Over it all presides Mr. Fingers, a harmlessly gangsterish type in striped trousers and white jacket. Dupasquier (Andy's Pirate Ship, 1994, etc.) keeps the text quick, simple, and hand-in-glove with the illustrations (``Mick and Mack start to work on Mr. Walker's car. Pete serves the first customer''). These watercolors are equally nimble, deliberately cartoonish in the linework and saturated colors. The front and rear flap covers fold out with an array of questions and puzzles pertaining to the story. Bright, boisterous, fun; for children who take to the format, there are two companion volumes: A Busy Day at the Airport (ISBN 1-56402-591-8) and A Busy Day at the Building Site (592-6). (Picture book. 4+)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1996
ISBN: 1-56402-590-X
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1995
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