Lost opportunities in the artwork dog an otherwise pleasing collection of poetry heroics.
Verse conjures up the clang of the alarm and the smell of smoke as a firefighting unit saves the day.
“Neighbors point, shout. / Hook up hoses, open valves— / let’s put this fire out!” A series of poems follow a crew of firefighters as they answer an alarm, rescue a puppy, and douse fires before returning to their firehouse for a much-deserved meal at day’s end. Cronin’s poems are paired with Marin’s illustrations, set against brightly colored backgrounds. The text is immediate and exciting, relying on a variety of forms, from acrostics to free verse, as Cronin describes these true heroes in action. “Attack Hose,” for example, is filled with thrilling descriptions (“You knock down flames / in a mighty rush”). The accompanying image, though, depicts a firefighter gazing placidly at the side of the truck, no hose in sight. The firefighters are laudably diverse in terms of race and gender, but the digital artwork comes off as static, devoid of the drama or energy of the verse. The backmatter doesn’t name the poetic forms, limiting the book’s use in classrooms, but does include further info on firefighting tools and methods.
Lost opportunities in the artwork dog an otherwise pleasing collection of poetry heroics. (author’s note, further reading) (Picture book/poetry. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9780823456598
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2026
Hard-to-find numbers make this counting book one to skip.
Four-line poems introduce the numbers zero to nine opposite stylized, colorful mixed-media illustrations that incorporate them.
The relevant numeral is printed clearly over each poem and worked into the pictures, with dotted blue lines to help readers find them. This device sometimes works against itself. For example, the poem headed “3” reads: “Curve out and back in— / Do it once, then repeat: / A three is red pepper / On pizza. Let’s eat!” The poem is inviting, but the red pepper 3’s on the pizza slices opposite are obscured by the dotted blue lines superimposed on them. There are also three people to count and three tuning pegs on the banjo one kid plays. Those elements of the illustration are clear enough, but locating the numeral can be hard. Most pictures share this difficulty, although some, like the two balls of the snowman representing 8, are easier to spot. (Eight children play around the snowman, and there are eight pieces of coal marking its features.) The pictures include people with varying skin tones. In acknowledgment of the difficulty of the concept, a concluding double-page spread with number shapes incorporated into the composition is followed by an identical spread with the number shapes circled for readers to confirm their guesses. The rear endpapers offer each numeral with a corresponding number of thumbnails from the appropriate earlier spread for extra practice.
Hard-to-find numbers make this counting book one to skip. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 22, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4321-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
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BOOK REVIEW
A sweet first poetry collection takes young readers through the seasons.
Poems with kid appeal.
In the opening, titular poem, the main character declares that she is 5 years old. The poems that follow encompass the four seasons and explore topics that are meaningful to the age group, such as art projects, gardening with Mom, taking care of a pet, and more. The poems are accompanied by vivid illustrations to bring the symbolic language to life. Mora makes use of alliteration, onomatopoeia, and refrain to keep verses interesting. She reminds readers in the author’s note that not all poems rhyme, and she demonstrates this with a compilation of poems that largely don’t but still provide satisfying read-aloud potential. Each poem is a snapshot of what feels most important to a kindergarten-age child, including the death of a friend’s pet snail. As the poems continue, the passage of time is indicated with the lengthening of the protagonist’s hair, and the collection ends with a sixth birthday party illustration and poem. A handful of Spanish words and phrases appear in several poems, including one titled “Speaking Spanish,” in which the family travels to Mexico, but it is not a bilingual book. The main character, modeled on Mora’s granddaughter, has peach skin with blond hair and brown eyes. Other characters appear to have light brown or white skin and brown hair and eyes.
A sweet first poetry collection takes young readers through the seasons. (Picture book/poetry. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64379-085-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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