Lam’s words and drawings offer tangible evidence to the intangible love between siblings.
For the first time, a boy walks his younger sister home all by himself.
Big brother is proud of his newfound responsibility: walking his little sister home from the school bus stop. He takes his duty very seriously as he tries to keep up with his sister’s boundless energy. The narrator keeps a watchful eye on little sister as she picks up trinkets, chases dogs, and hides from squirrels. Even though he thinks the trinkets she collects are trash, he doesn’t discourage her curiosity. He thoughtfully answers her many questions. The siblings stop for a quick game of medieval knights, dueling with tree branches. Little sister slips on a puddle when their walk is interrupted by a thunderstorm. Big brother soothes her and they make it home after the storm passes. Lam captures the earnest relationship between young siblings. Her soft-colored pencil-and-watercolor illustrations flow with little sister’s energy. Young readers will relate to the siblings’ animated reactions to each part of their walk. Her characters’ simple facial features are boldly expressive with just a few lines. Asian-American Lam’s siblings and mom are black-haired and golden-skinned, though their physiognomies are ethnically ambiguous.
Lam’s words and drawings offer tangible evidence to the intangible love between siblings. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-239697-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Dad announces that it's time for bed, and she sets to work getting her three favorite toys to sleep. Cherry Pig, Thunderbolt...
Little Stella stuffs a month of adventure into a single bedtime.
Dad announces that it's time for bed, and she sets to work getting her three favorite toys to sleep. Cherry Pig, Thunderbolt (a plush mouse) and Beanbag Frog all declare they're wide awake. Gathering them, Stella lays them gently on her pillow and lifts them into the air, "dream[ing] the pillow into something." They dream an ocean, the pillow a ship rocking on the waves. Cherry Pig imagines herself snuggling on a haystack in the loft; she's asleep. Thunderbolt and Beanbag Frog, however, remain awake and full of energy. Stella puts them in a box and, pushing it across the floor, says it's a train. Mouse and frog are transported to the midnight run; Thunderbolt imagines them riding magic horses through the air; he's asleep too. "Starship balloon" proves the way to make Beanbag Frog sleepy. She carries them all to bed and follows their lead. Taylor makes each of the toys’ dreams a poem, which nicely counterpoints the simple main story, though some of the images both in the verse and pictures seem arbitrary. Liao's watercolors are bright, and all the characters look adorable. The ample white space in book's design invites readers in and transitions the characters from reality into their imaginations.Pub Date: July 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7636-4957-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A lullaby featuring a polar bear mother and cub joins the legions of other tales of young ones asking their mothers the familiar—why? “When the moon sails high in the Artic sky, / Polar cub asks, ‘Mama, why?’ / Mama answers, ‘Moon floats up there / to say good night to polar bears. / He glides above to shine sweet dreams / and sends them down on silver beams.’” Mama adds, “When the moon sends dreams of princes and queens, / he turns wondrous stories into dreams.” While the sleepy polar cub continues to ask “why” in response to each of his mother’s lyrical explanations, the mixed-media illustrations imbue a dreamy quality to the spare text. Amid the misty aura, the bears are almost photographically realistic, especially their fur texture. Mendez sprinkles stars liberally about his spreads, their luster adding to the silvery sheen of the moon against the dark Arctic night, as if channeling Thomas Kinkade. As Mama’s explanations grow ever more fanciful, he incorporates fanciful imagery from the standard (pirate ships, royal coaches) to refreshingly original (bears and a trio of seals put together in the night sky). The overall effect is soothing, affectionate, precious and cozy—practically guaranteed to lull little ones to sleep. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: March 22, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4169-4205-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Feb. 10, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2011
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