by Margie Blumberg illustrated by Renée W. Andriani ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 20, 2018
Funny, warm, and unreflective of the current White House.
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In this rhyming, illustrated children’s book, a young girl goes to the White House for a field trip and makes an unscheduled visit to the kitchen.
Second-grader Bunny Romero, a recent immigrant to the United States from Mexico, is enjoying her grandmother’s Purim gifts of cookies and a book about the White House when she makes a vow: “Someday, I’m going to eat Nana’s hamantashen in the kitchen of this magnificent place!” Maybe then, she reflects, she’ll finally feel at home in America. Six months later, her teacher announces a class trip to the White House, which delights Bunny. She shows her younger brother a plan of the building, announcing that “the kitchen’s / The best of the bunch / ’Cause that’s where I’ll nosh on / My hamantash lunch!” On the school trip, there’s plenty to see, including the Blue, Green, and Red rooms. But the kitchen isn’t on the tour, so when it’s time to depart, Bunny decides to go off and find it for herself. A commotion ensues as everyone looks for the missing girl, who finds the kitchen and keeps her vow. She also trades some hamantashen for the White House chef’s apple pie and then meets a woman who turns out to be the president of the United States. The backmatter includes a blank “Dream Diary,” historical facts, and a recipe for hamantashen. Alongside the story of a girl’s bold adventure, Blumberg (Avram’s Gift, 2017, etc.) manages to emphasize the important role of immigrants in the United States’ history, writing in an introduction: “As the granddaughter of immigrants who adopted America as their home, I hope that people will always be welcomed and protected here.” The charming, full-color illustrations by Andriani (No Naptime for Janie!, 2017, etc.) underline this theme, showing diverse characters among the schoolchildren and White House dinner guests. A spirit of fun pervades the text and the pictures—in the latter, kids can, for example, look for symbols of Purim and Thanksgiving. There are gloomy stories that could be told about immigration, but celebration is the dominant mood in this book.
Funny, warm, and unreflective of the current White House.Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-9994463-2-4
Page Count: 57
Publisher: MB Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 7, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Kobi Yamada ; illustrated by Gabriella Barouch ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 15, 2019
More gift book than storybook, this is a meaningful addition to nursery bookshelves
A young child explores the unlimited potential inherent in all humans.
“Have you ever wondered why you are here?” asks the second-person narration. There is no one like you. Maybe you’re here to make a difference with your uniqueness; maybe you will speak for those who can’t or use your gifts to shine a light into the darkness. The no-frills, unrhymed narrative encourages readers to follow their hearts and tap into their limitless potential to be anything and do anything. The precisely inked and colored artwork plays with perspective from the first double-page spread, in which the child contemplates a mountain (or maybe an iceberg) in their hands. Later, they stand on a ladder to place white spots on tall, red mushrooms. The oversized flora and fauna seem to symbolize the presumptively insurmountable, reinforcing the book’s message that anything is possible. This quiet read, with its sophisticated central question, encourages children to reach for their untapped potential while reminding them it won’t be easy—they will make messes and mistakes—but the magic within can help overcome falls and failures. It’s unlikely that members of the intended audience have begun to wonder about their life’s purpose, but this life-affirming mood piece has honorable intentions. The child, accompanied by an adorable piglet and sporting overalls and a bird-beaked cap made of leaves, presents white.
More gift book than storybook, this is a meaningful addition to nursery bookshelves . (Picture book. 2-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-946873-75-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: May 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
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by Carson Ellis ; illustrated by Carson Ellis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 24, 2015
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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