There is such a thing as little, after all, and can’t it be just right? (Picture book. 3-5)
Pham’s latest relies on readers’ first understanding “little” as a synonym for “trivial” or “unimportant” and then resisting this implication by seeing good, significant things in small packages.
Unfortunately, the achievement of the charming digital artwork is undermined by the execution of the book’s central idea, which establishes that littleness might be seen as problematic. A frontmatter page opens with a statement from a smiling child: “Everyone says I’m little. / I really don’t agree. / If only they could see what I see / When I look at me,” but this doesn’t go far enough to explain why being perceived as little is something that needs correction. On ensuing pages, recto page die cuts provide glimpses of underlying reveals, as the first page questions the littleness (insignificance) of one thing, and the page-turn establishes its importance. “A little light?” for example, shows a candle in the first spread, its flame peeking through the die cut, but then the page-turn reveals “No, a welcoming light,” with the candle now situated in a lighthouse guiding a ship. Ironically, this belies the book’s very message, since the little thing (a candle) is revealed as a big thing (a lighthouse), which is a problem that dogs other spreads, too.
There is such a thing as little, after all, and can’t it be just right? (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-39150-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
As soothing as the patter of rain against a window.
How do different living beings react when it starts to rain?
Rylant’s command of language is evident as the book opens—“There is a softness / and a quiet / before the rain comes.” The stylized art on this beginning spread shows distant objects and animals—a two-story house, a playground, a pond, squirrels—that will be featured in close-ups in the pages to come. Perhaps most importantly, the sun in a blue-gray sky is half-masked by a cloud. As the text and art progress, readers learn that rain is pending and that trees, animals, and children sense this and prepare for it. In slightly varied ways, Rylant poses simple questions about who expects the rain, with answers conveying bits of extra information. “And the dogs who have been / busy chewing bones / in friendly backyards: / Do they know about the rain? / The dogs knew even before the cats knew, / for their noses knew yesterday.” As expected, the ducks are happiest out in the rain. The text, complemented well by the art, continues, extolling the virtues of rain until the sun returns. The gentle, uplifting text and the cheerful illustrations make this a good candidate for bedtime or naptime read-alouds. Though the artwork generally avoids depicting faces, human characters appear to be dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
As soothing as the patter of rain against a window. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 25, 2023
ISBN: 9781442465091
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
A title comics aficionados will snap up in order to groom the next generation of fandom—even if they don’t have a next...
It’s time for bed, Baby Groot—but Rocket Raccoon thinks otherwise!
Gamora reads a bedtime story to baby Groot in his flowerpot: “Night night, Groot, it’s time for bed. / Time to rest your sleepy head. // The day was long and filled with fun. / Think of all the things you’ve done.” Rocket grabs Groot’s hand and tells him the Earth is in danger. They run past Captain America and the other Avengers to their spaceship and blast off while the bedtime story continues. In action-filled spreads, they attack bad guys with the help of Red Hulk and She Hulk. More bad guys get kicked and beaten when Thor and Black Panther help out. Doctor Strange, Moon Knight, and the Guardians of the Galaxy team join the fight, and the night is won! “The day is now done and super friends say… / Night night, Groot. / You’ve had a wonderful day.” Deneen’s narrative has a consciously genre-appropriate anodyne text, but Rocket’s asides in speech bubbles and Groot’s “I am Groot”s will elicit more giggles and cheers than sleep—not to mention the energetic sound effects. Peopled with the stars of the Marvel universe, each brightly colored double-page spread of bad-guy bopping has at least one cameo or visual joke. All the superheroes and even the villains are just as supercute as baby Groot.
A title comics aficionados will snap up in order to groom the next generation of fandom—even if they don’t have a next generation yet. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4847-3282-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Marvel Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 31, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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