Rhythmic storytelling and gorgeous illustrations make this a delight.
Painterly oils accompany rhyming verse to describe one imaginative child’s rainy-day adventure.
A child and the family dog are stuck inside on a wet day and must find alternative ways to entertain themselves. Tried-and-true toys like cars, teddy bears, and balls are fun for a time, but after a while, the youth must find something with a bit more heft. Reaching into the farthest corners of the imagination, the child conjures “a whole new world / in a different place— / a galaxy off in / outer space!” Scanning the room, the child identifies a rocking chair as the perfect rocket ship. To create the launching pad, the child borrows some of Dad’s tools and a cardboard box full of socks. For a cool spacesuit, the child finds some patterned yellow swim trunks and goggles. For a flag, the child uses “Mom’s old dishrag.” With some additional help from Mom and Dad, the launch is an incredible success. An old broom provides thrust down the hall. The child lands perfectly in bed and prepares for a “safe arrival” in the “Land of ZZZZZZs.” The illustrations love this black family, highlighting the glow of their skin and luxuriating in the narrator’s abundant, textured curls. The lavish application of paint—broader than in most picture books—means this will show especially well in a group setting.
Rhythmic storytelling and gorgeous illustrations make this a delight. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6177-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Denene Millner Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Share this feel-good title with those who love art and those who can appreciate the confidence-building triumph of solving a...
Reynolds returns to a favorite topic—creative self-expression—with characteristic skill in a companion title to The Dot (2003) and Ish (2004).
Marisol is “an artist through and through. So when her teacher told her class they were going to paint a mural…, Marisol couldn’t wait to begin.” As each classmate claims a part of the picture to paint, Marisol declares she will “paint the sky.” But she soon discovers there is no blue paint and wonders what she will do without the vital color. Up to this point, the author uses color sparingly—to accent a poster or painting of Marisol’s or to highlight the paint jars on a desk. During her bus ride home, Marisol wonders what to do and stares out the window. The next spread reveals a vibrant departure from the gray tones of the previous pages. Reds, oranges, lemon yellows and golds streak across the sunset sky. Marisol notices the sky continuing to change in a rainbow of colors…except blue. After awakening from a colorful dream to a gray rainy day, Marisol smiles. With a fervent mixing of paints, she creates a beautiful swirling sky that she describes as “sky color.” Fans of Reynolds will enjoy the succinct language enhanced by illustrations in pen, ink, watercolor, gouache and tea.
Share this feel-good title with those who love art and those who can appreciate the confidence-building triumph of solving a problem on one’s own—creatively. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7636-2345-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of...
An international story tackles a serious global issue with Reynolds’ characteristic visual whimsy.
Gie Gie—aka Princess Gie Gie—lives with her parents in Burkina Faso. In her kingdom under “the African sky, so wild and so close,” she can tame wild dogs with her song and make grass sway, but despite grand attempts, she can neither bring the water closer to home nor make it clean. French words such as “maintenant!” (now!) and “maman” (mother) and local color like the karite tree and shea nuts place the story in a French-speaking African country. Every morning, Gie Gie and her mother perch rings of cloth and large clay pots on their heads and walk miles to the nearest well to fetch murky, brown water. The story is inspired by model Georgie Badiel, who founded the Georgie Badiel Foundation to make clean water accessible to West Africans. The details in Reynolds’ expressive illustrations highlight the beauty of the West African landscape and of Princess Gie Gie, with her cornrowed and beaded hair, but will also help readers understand that everyone needs clean water—from the children of Burkina Faso to the children of Flint, Michigan.
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of potable water. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-17258-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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