New pictures add fresh animation to a slightly retouched text originally published in 1982. Young Julie listens happily as Grandfather describes how he crossed the ocean in a golden wagon pulled by Moishe, a very special goat; how Teddy Roosevelt personally welcomed him; and how he emerged from his huge castle on New York City’s Lower East Side to sell gemstone and plate-sized buttons. Meanwhile, Grandmother counters with more likely accounts of an overcrowded immigrant ship, Ellis Island and hard times on Hester Street. The two find common ground at last, in telling how they met and had Julie’s mother and other children: “We had each other and we were free to live as we wanted.” Properly chastened, Grandfather promises to tell only the truth from now on—such as the tale of how he and Moishe once sang for Woodrow Wilson. The historical references make the narrative a bit creaky, but Kulikov recreates warmly lit, authentic-looking interiors and street scenes, and his smiling, flexibly posed figures project an intimacy that will draw children in to this intergenerational interchange. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-689-87434-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2007
There is something profoundly elemental going on in Smalls’s book: the capturing of a moment of unmediated joy. It’s not melodramatic, but just a Saturday in which an African-American father and son immerse themselves in each other’s company when the woman of the house is away. Putting first things first, they tidy up the house, with an unheralded sense of purpose motivating their actions: “Then we clean, clean, clean the windows,/wipe, wipe, wash them right./My dad shines in the windows’ light.” When their work is done, they head for the park for some batting practice, then to the movies where the boy gets to choose between films. After a snack, they work their way homeward, racing each other, doing a dance step or two, then “Dad takes my hand and slows down./I understand, and we slow down./It’s a long, long walk./We have a quiet talk and smile.” Smalls treats the material without pretense, leaving it guileless and thus accessible to readers. Hays’s artwork is wistful and idyllic, just as this day is for one small boy. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-316-79899-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
A message delivered many times…but still true blue–ish.
The first day of school might not go too well, nor the second—but the third time’s the sparkly charm in actor Tatum’s picture-book debut.
Working a particularly effervescent variation on the well-trod “just be yourself” lesson, Barnes depicts young Ella (“You can call me Sparkella”) and their single dad positively exploding with stars and twinkles bursting from flamboyant garb and dancing along to school. But if Sparkella turns out to be a bit much for their new class, Day 2’s plainly dressed Ella just leaves the protagonist bored and lonely. There’s nothing for it but to share a little dance party that night with Dad (who had a hard day himself) and recite the pledge that the duo use to combat nervousness: “Close my eyes and know that everything I could need is already there inside of me.” The next day, Sparkella’s not the only child fizzing away in class and by lunchtime is trading half of an almond butter, jam, blueberry, and whipped cream sandwich for some of new friend Tam’s bánh mì. Sometimes, as the scintillant young narrator puts it, “all you can do is be more you-ish.” Sparkella and Dad are light-skinned, Tam is brown-skinned, and the class is racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A message delivered many times…but still true blue–ish. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-75075-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2022
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