Complete with jolly stepfather, new neighbors, gay fathers, and a new baby, Freeman takes up where The Trouble with Cats (2000) left off. Holly, her mother, and new stepfather have moved. Holly has the same problems as she did before: staying brave in the face of new challenges and keeping the cats in the house. She also needs to meet her new neighbors. What a diverse group they are. Many—perhaps too many—racial, ethnic, and lifestyle groups are represented in Holly’s San Francisco neighborhood: hyphenated Aileen Cohen-Liu, Xavier with his two dads, and Annie with her Jewish/Polish mother and Chinese father. Xavier’s fathers are introduced quickly but have little to do with the story: “ ‘I have two dads. And no mom. Alan and Jim are partners.’ ‘Oh, now I get it,’ I said. ‘You mean they’re gay.’” As Holly works out the relationship between Annie and her yucky baby sister, the savvy reader will realize that mom and stepdad are about to spring their own yucky news. While there is some humor and the characters are likable enough, awkward first-person dialogue, unlikely situations, and a slow plot detract from total success. Even Xavier, the quirky boy next door, with his inexplicable crush on Annie and his “de-yucka-ma-box” invention, seems just another odd diversion. Smith’s scratchy black-and-white sketches mirror the world painted by Freeman, but add little to it. Though the generous font and thoughtful layout is the perfect form for new readers, the trouble here is there’s just not much story. (Fiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-8234-1698-4
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A welcome, well-researched reflection of cultural pride in the early-reader landscape.
The fourth installment in Delacre’s early-reader series centers on the rich musical traditions of Puerto Rico, once again featuring sibling tree frogs Rafi and Rosi Coquí.
Readers learn along with Rafi and Rosi as they explore bomba, plena, and salsa in three chapters. A glossary at the beginning sets readers up well to understand the Spanish vocabulary, including accurate phoneticization for non-Spanish speakers. The stories focus on Rafi and Rosi’s relationship within a musical context. For example, in one chapter Rafi finds out that he attracts a larger audience playing his homemade güiro with Rosi’s help even though he initially excluded her: “Big brothers only.” Even when he makes mistakes, as the older brother, Rafi consoles Rosi when she is embarrassed or angry at him. In each instance, their shared joy for music and dance ultimately shines through any upsets—a valuable reflection of unity. Informational backmatter and author’s sources are extensive. Undoubtedly these will help teachers, librarians, and parents to develop Puerto Rican cultural programs, curriculum, or home activities to extend young readers’ learning. The inclusion of instructions to make one’s own homemade güiro is a thoughtful addition. The Spanish translation, also by Delacre and published simultaneously, will require a more advanced reader than the English one to recognize and comprehend contractions (“pa’bajo-pa-pa’rriba”) and relatively sophisticated vocabulary.
A welcome, well-researched reflection of cultural pride in the early-reader landscape. (Early reader. 7-9)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-89239-429-6
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Children's Book Press
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
In describing how his parents met, Say continues to explore the ways that differing cultures can harmonize; raised near San Francisco and known as May everywhere except at home, where she is Masako, the child who will grow up to be Say’s mother becomes a misfit when her family moves back to Japan. Rebelling against attempts to force her into the mold of a traditional Japanese woman, she leaves for Osaka, finds work as a department store translator, and meets Joseph, a Chinese businessman who not only speaks English, but prefers tea with milk and sugar, and persuades her that “home isn’t a place or a building that’s ready-made or waiting for you, in America or anywhere else.” Painted with characteristic control and restraint, Say’s illustrations, largely portraits, begin with a sepia view of a sullen child in a kimono, gradually take on distinct, subdued color, and end with a formal shot of the smiling young couple in Western dress. A stately cousin to Ina R. Friedman’s How My Parents Learned To Eat (1984), also illustrated by Say. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-395-90495-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
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