by Madeleine L'Engle ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1986
Sandy and Dennys, twins and middle children in the Newbery-winning A Wrinkle in Time, are transported to the time just before the Flood. With a Finn grounding in Genesis, this is the kind of intricate tale with complex characters and relationships that L'Engle's readers have come to expect. Her ancient world of desert and oasis are stark in their simplicity, yet the evils precipitating the Flood mirror today's. Old customs are flouted; even Noah has quarreled with his father, and young women are wedding nephilim, biblical "giants in the earth," drawn here as fallen angels who change from man to beast at will. The boys, 15, become compassionate participants in preflood events, helping where they can (they reconcile Noah with his father) but always aware that they're "not supposed to change the story." Poignantly, they realize that the flood failed in the long term; human nature is the same. Noah was before Babel; L'Engle's universal "Old Language" is spare, direct, without colloquialisms. Her reiterated descriptions—baboons clapping at dawn, the brilliance of the singing stars—lend a mythic timelessness to the setting. A carefully wrought fable, entwining disparate elements from unicorns to particle physics, this will be enjoyed for its suspense and humor as well as its other levels of meaning.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1986
ISBN: 0374347964
Page Count: 328
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1986
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by Tom Percival ; illustrated by Tom Percival ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2018
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance.
A boy with wings learns to be himself and inspires others like him to soar, too.
Norman, a “perfectly normal” boy, never dreamed he might grow wings. Afraid of what his parents might say, he hides his new wings under a big, stuffy coat. Although the coat hides his wings from the world, Norman no longer finds joy in bathtime, playing at the park, swimming, or birthday parties. With the gentle encouragement of his parents, who see his sadness, Norman finds the courage to come out of hiding and soar. Percival (The Magic Looking Glass, 2017, etc.) depicts Norman with light skin and dark hair. Black-and-white illustrations show his father with dark skin and hair and his mother as white. The contrast of black-and-white illustrations with splashes of bright color complements the story’s theme. While Norman tries to be “normal,” the world and people around him look black and gray, but his coat stands out in yellow. Birds pop from the page in pink, green, and blue, emphasizing the joy and beauty of flying free. The final spread, full of bright color and multiracial children in flight, sets the mood for Norman’s realization on the last page that there is “no such thing as perfectly normal,” but he can be “perfectly Norman.”
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-785-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
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by Tom Percival ; illustrated by Tom Percival
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by Elisa Sabatinelli ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno ; translated by Christopher Turner ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 12, 2021
Beautiful, remarkable, amazing, and wonderful in every way.
Hector wants to be a deep-sea diver, just like his father and grandfather.
He has internalized all his grandfather’s tales, especially the story of the “rarest, whitest, and purist pearl in the world,” said to live on the seabed offshore near the Marina, their family business. But the greedy Amedeo Limonta has set up a competitive business that’s forced the Marina to close. When Hector turns 8, everything changes. On his very first dive, he discovers the magical Pearl and brings it home…and complications ensue. Hector heeds his memories and dreams of his grandfather and courageously makes it all right. Hector narrates his adventures in meticulously organized chapters, carefully introducing each character, providing detailed information about relationships and events, and sharing credit for his successes. At the conclusion Hector presents readers with vivid descriptions of his beloved village and its inhabitants. Sabatinelli provides Hector with a voice that soars with lilting, expressive language, losing nothing in Turner’s translation from Italian. Bruno’s intensely bright, sharply hued illustrations are a tour de force. A chart of semaphore flags and diagrams that detail the parts of a diving suit fill the opening pages, and those flags head each chapter. The sea is evoked with glorious dreamlike color and movement, and characters’ features and expressions immediately announce their nature, emotions, and quirks. All present White. Hector is wise, kind, and readers will take him to their hearts.
Beautiful, remarkable, amazing, and wonderful in every way. (Adventure. 6-12)Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-63655-006-0
Page Count: 92
Publisher: Red Comet Press
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
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