by Lizi Boyd ; illustrated by Lizi Boyd ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 6, 2018
A clever introduction to theater for young audiences or performers (and an inspiration for post-bedtime play).
Usually it is the sleepless child who invents a nocturnal story for his or her stuffed animals to enact; Boyd imagines the reverse.
The narrative employs the elements and accoutrements associated with a theatrical performance, starting with the red-and-white jacket flaps that are shaped like drawn curtains. This attention-grabbing design component echoes the protagonist’s similarly striped pajamas and is incorporated into each spread. The drapery functions as side borders on pages of varying widths—a situation that promotes turning back and forth to check on partial or complete disappearances. While Arlo’s friends—rabbit, lemur, fawn, leopard, and birds—plan the first act, the little boy falls asleep. The backdrop consists of changing scenery rendered in a controlled palette of blues or greens against white—a foil for the solid, gouache characters and an opportunity to hide extra details for observant viewers. Costumes are procured and abandoned (too itchy, etc.); props are brought out after a run-through of sound effects and actions. The noise wakes Arlo, and the curtains open in a climactic gatefold that reveals a grand sailing expedition before a sleepy denouement. As in actual productions created by a group of youngsters, the event is more about negotiations and protocols than plot, but the creative die cuts, quick pace, and winsome creatures provide an enjoyable diversion. Arlo has straight, black hair, and his skin is paper-white.
A clever introduction to theater for young audiences or performers (and an inspiration for post-bedtime play). (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4521-5529-6
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
Share your opinion of this book
More by Lizi Boyd
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
by Connie Schofield-Morrison ; illustrated by Frank Morrison ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 3, 2014
A lively celebration of music and expressive dance.
The beat is all around her when a girl takes a walk in the park with her mother.
On a lovely summer day, a young African-American girl in a bright pink sundress and matching sneakers sees, smells, sings, claps and snaps her fingers to an internal rhythm. As a boom box plays its song and a drummer taps his beat, neighborhood children join her in an energetic, pulsating dance culminating in a rousing musical parade. Schofield-Morrison’s brief text has a shout-it-out element as each spread resounds with a two-word phrase: “I shook a rhythm with my hips. /SHAKE SHAKE”; “I tapped the rhythm with my toes. / TIP TAP.” Morrison’s full-bleed, textured oil paintings capture the joy of a mother and daughter in an urban park surrounded by musicians, food vendors and many exuberant children. Read this aloud with music playing loudly—not in the background. Morrison is a Coretta Scott King/New Talent Award winner, and this is a fine debut for his wife in their first collaboration.
A lively celebration of music and expressive dance. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 3, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61963-178-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
Share your opinion of this book
More by Connie Schofield-Morrison
BOOK REVIEW
by Connie Schofield-Morrison ; illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon
BOOK REVIEW
by Connie Schofield-Morrison ; illustrated by Frank Morrison
BOOK REVIEW
by Connie Schofield-Morrison ; illustrated by Frank Morrison
by Kelly Starling Lyons ; illustrated by Luke Flowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2016
It’s a bit hard to dance, or count, to this beat.
Dinos that love to move and groove get children counting from one to 10—and perhaps moving to the beat.
Beginning with a solo bop by a female dino (she has eyelashes, doncha know), the dinosaur dance party begins. Each turn of the page adds another dino and a change in the dance genre: waltz, country line dancing, disco, limbo, square dancing, hip-hop, and swing. As the party would be incomplete without the moonwalk, the T. Rex does the honors…and once they are beyond their initial panic at his appearance, the onlookers cheer wildly. The repeated refrain on each spread allows for audience participation, though it doesn’t easily trip off the tongue: “They hear a swish. / What’s this? / One more? / One more dino on the floor.” Some of the prehistoric beasts are easily identifiable—pterodactyl, ankylosaurus, triceratops—but others will be known only to the dino-obsessed; none are identified, other than T-Rex. Packed spreads filled with psychedelically colored dinos sporting blocks of color, stripes, or polka dots (and infectious looks of joy) make identification even more difficult, to say nothing of counting them. Indeed, this fails as a counting primer: there are extra animals (and sometimes a grumpy T-Rex) in the backgrounds, and the next dino to join the party pokes its head into the frame on the page before. Besides all that, most kids won’t get the dance references.
It’s a bit hard to dance, or count, to this beat. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8075-1598-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
Share your opinion of this book
More by Kelly Starling Lyons
BOOK REVIEW
by Kelly Starling Lyons ; illustrated by Niña Mata
BOOK REVIEW
by Kelly Starling Lyons ; illustrated by Wayne Spencer
BOOK REVIEW
by Kelly Starling Lyons ; illustrated by Wayne Spencer
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
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.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.