by Mark Sperring ; illustrated by Britta Teckentrup ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 29, 2015
Great either for a bedtime story or to celebrate a newborn; no one can refute the book’s final words: “with your hand in my...
A caregiver adult mouse and its child mouse enjoy love and support along the path of life.
Passing through all the seasons, readers follow the tale of two mice and how each has one hand in the other’s as they walk along. Adult mouse shows child mouse the wonders of the world and stresses the importance of living life to the fullest when there’s “no time to spare.” The vivid, lyrical description of each season they encounter—“the wind whistles past”; “birds will sing sweetly / and flowers will grow”; “we’ll paddle and splash / in the warm sunny rays”; “when winter takes hold”—showcases how time is the bond of their loving, growing relationship. The story can be read as a tale of parental love, grandparental affection, sibling care, or of any other caregiver love. Sperring effectively uses poetry to gives readers a story of discovering what life's about, what it has to offer, and how real love will hold through this journey. Teckentrup’s sweet, screen-printed illustrations and the matte palette capture the mice’s emotions and connection.
Great either for a bedtime story or to celebrate a newborn; no one can refute the book’s final words: “with your hand in my hand, / we’ll never feel lost.” (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-80642-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
Share your opinion of this book
More by Mark Sperring
BOOK REVIEW
by Mark Sperring ; illustrated by Lucy Fleming
BOOK REVIEW
by Mark Sperring illustrated by Maddie Frost
BOOK REVIEW
by Mark Sperring ; illustrated by Layn Marlow
by Adam Rex ; illustrated by Claire Keane ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2019
A funny David-versus-Goliath story with a one-word question serving as the slingshot. (Picture book. 3-5)
Doctor X-Ray, a megalomaniac with an X-ray blaster and an indestructible battle suit, crashes through the ceiling of the local mall.
Innocent patrons scatter to safety. But one curious child gazes directly at the bully and asks: “Why?” At first, Doctor X-Ray answers with all the menace and swagger of a supervillain. The curious child, armed with only a stuffed bear and clad in a bright red dress, is not satisfied with the answers and continues asking: “Why?” As his pale cheeks flush with emotion, Doctor X-Ray peels back the onion of his interior life, unearthing powerful reasons behind his pursuit of tyranny. This all sounds heavy, but the humorously monotonous questions coupled with free-wheeling illustrations by Keane set a quick pace with comical results. At 60 pages, the book has room to follow this thread back to the diabolical bully’s childhood. Most of the answers go beyond a child’s understanding—parental entertainment between the howl of the monosyllabic chorus. It is the digital artwork, which is reminiscent of Quentin Blake’s, that creates a joyful undercurrent of rebellion with bold and loose brush strokes, patches of color, and expressive faces. The illustrations harken to a previous era save for the thoroughly liberated Asian child speaking truth to power.
A funny David-versus-Goliath story with a one-word question serving as the slingshot. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4521-6863-0
Page Count: 60
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
Share your opinion of this book
More by Adam Rex
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
by Stephanie Stansbie ; illustrated by Richard Smythe ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 3, 2019
Sweet.
A caregiving bear shares with its cub how love has defined their relationship from the first moment and through the years as the cub has grown.
With rhymes and a steady rhythm that are less singsong-y than similar books, Stansbie seems to have hit a sweet spot for this offering on the I-love-you-always shelf. Readers follow the adult and child as they share special moments together—a sunset, a splash in a pond, climbing a tree, a snuggle—and the adult tells the child that the love it feels has only grown. Stansbie also takes care not to put promises in the adult bear’s mouth that can’t be delivered, acknowledging that physical proximity is not always possible: “Wherever you are, / even when we’re apart… // I’ll love you forever / with all of my heart.” The large trim size helps the sweet illustrations shine; their emphasis is on the close relationship between parent and child. Shaped peekaboo windows offer glimpses of preceding and succeeding pages, images and text carefully placed to work whatever the context. While the die cuts on the interior pages will not hold up to rough handling, they do add whimsy and delight to the book as a whole: “And now that you’re bigger, / you make my heart sing. / My / beautiful / wonderful / magical / thing.” Those last three adjectives are positioned in leaf-shaped cutouts, the turn of the page revealing the roly-poly cub in a pile of leaves, three formed by the die-cuts. Opposite, three vignettes show the cub appreciating the “beautiful,” the “wonderful,” and the “magical.”
Sweet. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68412-910-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Silver Dolphin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
Share your opinion of this book
More by Stephanie Stansbie
BOOK REVIEW
by Stephanie Stansbie ; illustrated by Tatiana Kamshilina
BOOK REVIEW
by Stephanie Stansbie ; illustrated by Tatiana Kamshilina
BOOK REVIEW
by Stephanie Stansbie ; illustrated by Elisa Paganelli
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.