GONE WISHING

Name: GONE WISHING
Author: Luka Lorenci

by Luka Lorenci & illustrated by Matej Jenko & developed by Fi Productions ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 16, 2011

Best Wishes is the company that collects wished-upon fountain coins, blown-out birthday candles and wishbones, granting the...

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The inner workings of the wish-fulfillment business are exposed in this imaginative romp, which features lush fantasy art in the service of a fairly conventional coming-of-age story.

Best Wishes is the company that collects wished-upon fountain coins, blown-out birthday candles and wishbones, granting the wishes of those who've pinned their hopes on these objects. But Jacob, the tiny, sad-looking genie who's the son of the company's director, has no talent for granting such wishes. The story of how he uses ingenuity and invention instead of magic to make a child's wish come true is enhanced most by beautifully gloomy art that wouldn't look out of place in a Tim Burton animated feature. The clever animation and the interactive elements (throwing coins into a fountain with the flick of a finger or a neat set of mirrors that refract light and create a playable drum set) are entertaining. The story itself is full of great surprises (a "Shooting Star Service" for wish delivery) and fascinating peripheral characters who, sadly, get little more than a single page to shine. The nice thing about a story overstuffed with entertaining bits it doesn't fully explore is the possibility that more stories will spring from this universe in the future.

Pub Date: Dec. 16, 2011

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Gone Wishing

Review Posted Online: Feb. 14, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2012

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TALES FOR VERY PICKY EATERS

by Josh Schneider & illustrated by Josh Schneider ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2011

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Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)

Pub Date: May 1, 2011

ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Clarion Books

Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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ULTRABOT'S FIRST PLAYDATE
by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider

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KID AMAZING VS. THE BLOB
by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider

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EVERYBODY SLEEPS (BUT NOT FRED)
by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider

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ABIYOYO RETURNS

by Pete Seeger & Paul Dubois Jacobs & illustrated by Michael Hays ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2001

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The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)