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LILIANA'S GRANDMOTHERS

Name: LILIANA'S GRANDMOTHERS
Author: Leyla Torres
ISBN: 0-374-35105-8

by Leyla Torres & illustrated by Leyla Torres ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1998

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From Torres (Subway Sparrow, 1993), a book that offers perhaps a too-rosy portrayal of the relationships a girl has with her two grandmothers. Liliana spends time in each of her grandmother’s homes, one just down the street, one in another country. Through descriptions of Liliana’s time in the women’s homes—under scrutiny is the weather, food, activities, and personalities—two very different styles of living become apparent. Mima lives in town, does yoga and crossword puzzles, and makes quilts (on a sewing machine that isn’t plugged in and has no other visible works). Mama Gabina lives in “another country” (South America), keeps a parrot, talks to her flowers, dances, and snores through naps. In a world that may exist only in picture books, Liliana’s bedroom is neat and spare, with only one object on the nightstand, and with only a few toys and books. The interiors of the grandmothers’ homes are similarly spare, without VCRs, TVs, telephones, or other appliances. The lesson in comparisons is heavy and long; the illustrations are bland, despite the care spent in making the homes distinct. All the characters are badly drawn; the cat, in particular, suffers from limbs that have odd angles and lines. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998

ISBN: 0-374-35105-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1998

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
SATURDAY SANCOCHO
by Leyla Torres ; illustrated by Leyla Torres

- BOOK REVIEW
SUBWAY SPARROW
by Leyla Torres & illustrated by Leyla Torres

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HANSEL AND GRETEL

by Stephen King ; illustrated by Maurice Sendak ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 2, 2025

Menacing and most likely to appeal to established fans of its co-creators.

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Existing artwork from an artistic giant inspires a fairy-tale reimagination by a master of the horror genre.

In King’s interpretation of a classic Brothers Grimm story, which accompanies set and costume designs that the late Sendak created for a 1997 production of Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera, siblings Hansel and Gretel survive abandonment in the woods and an evil witch’s plot to gobble them up before finding their “happily ever after” alongside their father. Prose with the reassuring cadence of an old-timey tale, paired with Sendak’s instantly recognizable artwork, will lull readers before capitalizing on these creators’ knack for injecting darkness into seemingly safe spaces. Gaping faces loom in crevices of rocks and trees, and a gloomy palette of muted greens and ocher amplify the story’s foreboding tone, while King never sugarcoats the peach-skinned children’s peril. Branches with “clutching fingers” hide “the awful enchanted house” of a “child-stealing witch,” all portrayed in an eclectic mix of spot and full-bleed images. Featuring insults that might strike some as harsh (“idiot,” “fool”), the lengthy, dense text may try young readers’ patience, and the often overwhelmingly ominous mood feels more pitched to adults—particularly those familiar with King and Sendak—but an introduction acknowledges grandparents as a likely audience, and nostalgia may prompt leniency over an occasional disconnect between words and art.

Menacing and most likely to appeal to established fans of its co-creators. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025

ISBN: 9780062644695

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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BECAUSE YOUR DADDY LOVES YOU

by Andrew Clements & illustrated by R.W. Alley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 23, 2005

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Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)