An appealing young boy and his family star in a tribute to an Ohio city.
In this travel/picture book, a little boy’s scavenger hunt takes him to Cleveland landmarks and historical sites.
When Elijah and his parents arrive in Cleveland to visit his grandma and grandpa, he learns that his “FAVORITE BAND IN THE WHOLE WORLD” will be headlining at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. An offer of free tickets sets Elijah and his grandparents off on a scavenger hunt. To earn the tickets, they must follow clues on the band’s website to find its members at sites around the city. With his grandparents helping to decipher the clues by sharing their knowledge of Cleveland and its historical and contemporary points of interest, Elijah makes it to each location, beginning with Public Square and a statue of the city’s founder, Moses Cleaveland. But each time the trio arrives, the band members have moved on to the next site. Will Elijah and his family get those free tickets after all? Darden’s lively tale is enhanced by Elijah’s enthusiasm and Bui’s varied city settings—including the West Side Market, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, and the Wade Lagoon at the Cleveland Museum of Art—and character-rich renderings of the boy and his supportive Black family. The book includes an illustrated map and a list of the places Elijah visits, with additional background information. (If the author isn’t already planning a series featuring Elijah’s travels, he should consider it.)
An appealing young boy and his family star in a tribute to an Ohio city.Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73670-300-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Buckeye Muscle Media
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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