Meidell creates an idealized, small-town setting in lusciously hued watercolors for Carney’s sunny account of the invention of grape juice—that was produced by New Jersey dentist Thomas Bramwell Welch as a nonalcoholic alternative to communion wine for fellow Methodists. Though the author does mention Louis Pasteur’s discoveries about the role molds and yeasts play in fermentation, readers will learn more about Welch’s motives than details of his process. Still, it makes an intriguing tale, and Carney caps it with a brief corporate history that connects the dots between Welch’s early (and unsuccessful) efforts to sell his “unfermented wine” and its modern, multinational, ubiquity. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 2005
ISBN: 1-59078-039-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2005
More of a teaching text, Mitchell’s story is really a series of observations, ostensibly by a child, about how people differ and how they are the same. The narrator sees children speaking in sign language, which is not how she communicates, but she waves to one, who waves back. She sees a blind woman calling an elevator, and describes its Braille labels, but notes that the woman gets off at her floor, “just like me.” A bearded man at a lunch counter orders the same sandwich she does; she meets a woman who likes to draw, as she does. The lesson concludes: “Like the flowers in Grammie’s garden, they were all different from one another, and that’s what made them so great.” The book’s practical aspects—the inclusion of the American Sign Language alphabet and a sample strip of Braille’strengthen it; the logical problem weakens it: to assemble racial differences, physical disabilities, food preferences, and artistic proclivities under one banner may confuse children. A well-intentioned work. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-88106-975-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
The protagonist of this predictable picture book feels overshadowed by her new baby brother. She no longer has time with her mother, who is always feeding, changing, or walking around with the baby. Her father is hopeless when it comes to braiding hair and his recipe for tuna fish sandwiches includes too much mayonnaise. While many readers may have these feelings, the narrative is more cloying than effective; the moments of mild humor are brought out more in the lively colored illustrations. With Kevin Henkes’s Julius, Baby of the World and so many other titles with identical plots available, Mario’s may have trouble finding room on the shelves. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-88106-357-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
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