An enjoyable, gorgeously illustrated, whimsy-heavy adventure.
A girl embarks on a magical nighttime journey filled with giggles and sweets in this debut children’s book.
Addie is nervous about her first night in her new home in the country, but soon talking fox Rosie Mean arrives with the promise of adventure: “All you need to do is eat your favorite cake, and we’ll be on our way.” At first hesitant to take treats from a stranger, Addie is soon persuaded to indulge. The treat shrinks her to a tiny size, and Rosie takes her on an odyssey full of delicious desserts, magical doors, ice skating in summer, and an ice boat race with magical woodland creatures. Too soon, it’s time for Addie to return to bed, but Rosie promises more escapades. Broken into chapters, the long sections of text are balanced by large, textured digital paintings from debut illustrator Darrow, a veteran artist. With an intermediate vocabulary in straightforward sentences, the work treads the line between chapter book and picture book. Darrow’s beautiful images portray a fanciful world with charismatic creatures whose appearances remain animal rather than human even when they’re sailing ice boats. Addie’s own features are always shown in nighttime silhouettes, only hinting at her ethnicity and coloration, allowing readers to imagine themselves reflected in her. Dwight’s text evokes Narnia and Wonderland without the conflicts or dangerous sides of either fantasy, making Addie’s engaging tale appropriate for calm, bedtime reading.
An enjoyable, gorgeously illustrated, whimsy-heavy adventure.Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7350650-3-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Galactic Smarties
Review Posted Online: Aug. 21, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A tender bedtime tale set in a too-seldom-seen northern world.
A quiet book for putting young children to bed in a state of snowy wonder.
The magic of the north comes alive in a picture book featuring Inuit characters. In the sky at nighttime, snow falls fast. / … / In the sky at nighttime, a raven roosts atop a tall building. / … / In the sky at nighttime, a mother’s delicate song to her child arises like a gentle breeze.” With the repetition of the simple, titular refrain, the author envisions what happens in a small town at night: Young children see their breath in the cold; a hunter returns on his snowmobile; the stars dazzle in the night sky. A young mother rocks her baby to sleep with a song and puts the tot down with a trio of stuffed animals: hare, polar bear, seal. The picture book evokes a feeling of peace as the street lamps, northern lights, and moon illuminate the snow. The illustrations are noteworthy for the way they meld the old world with what it looks like to be a modern Indigenous person: A sled dog and fur-lined parkas combine easily with the frame houses, a pickup truck, power lines, and mobile-hung crib. By introducing Indigenous characters in an unremarkably familiar setting, the book reaches children who don’t always see themselves in an everyday context.
A tender bedtime tale set in a too-seldom-seen northern world. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-77227-238-3
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Inhabit Media
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
