This simple, fanciful narrative will delight youngsters who already dream of the moon.
A boy and his dog embark on a space adventure in this debut picture book.
Taye, a pale-skinned, dark-haired youngster, wakes to a boom and a bright light: “Taye would normally go back to sleep, but this was not an ordinary night.” He sets off with his dog to find out what amazing thing has happened. In the field near his house is now a door that opens to a stairway to the moon. There, Taye meets aliens and astronauts, having fun until he’s sleepy enough to return to bed and dream about the places he’s been. Youngsters may wonder whether Taye has been dreaming the whole time, as the ending illustration with its bright moon echoes the opening image of the boy and his pooch in a bedroom flooded with light. The soft-edged pictures by debut illustrator Senarak enrich the whimsical fantasy. They show details absent from Santigul’s straightforward tale, such as Taye’s exploration preparations. The brush-stroke style offers grounding before the more fantastic, off-planet escapades begin. Clever design elements also enhance the storytelling. On the moon, the text goes around the sides of the pages. When the house is shown, with a wall absent, heading to a horizon point, the text angles the same way along Taye’s path.
This simple, fanciful narrative will delight youngsters who already dream of the moon.Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-73343-875-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PERSPECTIVES
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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