When trying to do anything new or exciting, there are apt to be some minor bumps and bruises and the children featured in this story manage to shake off their falls and try it again. While the message that it is a good idea to keep going even though they have received a setback is clear, it is unclear whether the children eventually learn that trying to skip rope in a long dress is a bad idea or that running through the house with a toy wrapped around one’s waist might lead to another fall. Rhyming text with repetitive sounds fill the text. Illustrations rendered in watercolors seem sloppy rather than childlike, spilling over the pages in a haphazard manner. An overly simplistic message and unremarkable illustrations keep this tale from hitting its mark. Boo hoo, this one is a boo-boo. (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: May 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-694-01566-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2002
If Black Lives Matter, they deserve more specificity than this.
A lushly illustrated picture book with a troubling message.
Little Lala walks with her father after his successful day of fishing. When Mama calls her home for bed, a host of “good night”s delays her: to the bird, the monkey, and even the rock. As Lala wanders through her village in the darkening twilight, readers appreciate its expansive beauty and Lala’s simple joys. Although it’s been artfully written and richly illustrated by an award-winning author of many multicultural stories, this book has problems that overshadow its beauty. “African veld” sets the story in southern Africa, but its vague locale encourages Americans to think that distinctions among African countries don’t matter. Lala wears braids or locks that stick straight up, recalling the 19th-century pickaninny, and her inconsistent skin color ranges from deep ebony like her father’s to light brown. Shadows may cause some of these differences, but if it weren’t for her identifiable hair, readers might wonder if the same child wanders from page to page. Perhaps most striking of all is Lala’s bedtime story: not an African tale but an American classic. While this might evoke nostalgia in some readers, it also suggests that southern Africa has no comparably great bedtime books for Lala, perhaps in part because American children’s literature dominates the world market.
If Black Lives Matter, they deserve more specificity than this. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-17384-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
This straightforward, graphic book was published in Japan in 1978. Whether the US is ready for its unblinking look at a subject that naturally fascinates children and is basic to toilet training remains to be seen. ``An elephant makes a big poop. A mouse makes a tiny poop,'' begins Gomi, depicting animals, birds, fish, and humans in boldly stylized forms silhouetted against origami-paper colors; their feces are appropriately shaped blobs. There's a lot to know: different shapes, colors, and smells (not described), while some animals stop but ``Others do it on the move.'' A child heading for ``a special place'' introduces a nonjudgmental comparison of adults and tots on toilets and potties with a baby on a diaper. The book concludes with a seven- animal lineup viewed fore (``All living things eat, so...'') and aft (``Everyone poops''). Candid and sensible. (Picture book. 2- 5)
Pub Date: March 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-916291-45-6
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1993
SEEN & HEARD
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