Jabar illustrates two of O’Neill’s early poems with vivid images from dawn to dark. In the first, morning begins with a father helping his children get ready to catch the school bus, as the busy sounds of day unfold and conclude with the return of momma with a new baby. Pastel illustrations convey warmth within a family and beyond to the community. Noisy daytime words conjure indelible impressions conveying sounds: “clatter,” “whirring,” “crackle.” Energetic forms move through the day and into night, building a contrast between morning and evening, bright and dark, bustling and calm. In the second poem, characters fill the night with “whispering,” “tiptoe,” “squeakings,” and “snores.” The poetry concludes as night and snow fall. Palette and form echo the gentle tone of the poetry. Round figures enclosed in ellipses, rectangles, circles, move forward with diagonals and curving lines. Illustrations filled with familial love create an early opportunity for a reading ritual replete with the best examples of onomatopoetic text. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Aug. 11, 2003
ISBN: 0-374-37135-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Melanie Kroupa/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2003
Brief, enjoyable bits of verse well suited to reading or sharing with younger audiences.
A sampler of the veteran poet’s work, gathering 101 rhymes on seasons, animals, writing poetry, and like homey topics.
Short and simple are the watchwords, as most entries are limited to a few stanzas, few of the lines are more than a couple of words or a brief phrase, and both language and imagery are easy to comprehend. Some poems are playful; a celebration of “Spring!” goes, for instance, “Across the meadow / By the creek / Bees are playing / Hive and seek.” Others are reflective, as Ghigna invites readers to “hear / A hush of sounds” on “Quiet Days” or, in a closing series, to think metaphorically of a poem as a play, a painting, a song, a spiderweb, “a laugh. / A sigh. / An echo / Passing by.” Brezzi taxes her artistic license by contradicting lines about a baby dove not yet ready to leave the nest by depicting the bird in midair…and though the poet often writes in first person, there is little sign of human presence in the pictures beyond occasional small silhouettes or glimpses of distant buildings. Still, in general her mix of landscapes, wide skies, and delicately detailed close-ups of grasses and wildflowers both adds bright washes of earth tones and expands on the understated lyricism of the verses.
Brief, enjoyable bits of verse well suited to reading or sharing with younger audiences. (subject index, title index) (Poetry. 3-6)Pub Date: April 28, 2023
ISBN: 9780764365690
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Schiffer
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
A heartwarming take on the familiar nursery rhyme.
Itsy Bitsy leads a solitary and comfortable, if not altogether content, existence in a web on a watering can…until disaster strikes.
Alas, a small tree branch falls on the web, and Itsy goes tumbling. Looking for another home, the spider spies the area between a waterspout and roof and begins to move there. Then the wind starts blowing, and then the rain comes, and then, well, as the rhyme goes, Itsy gets washed out only to try again. What makes this tale particularly appealing is the whimsical artwork, which amplifies the spare narrative with numerous other storylines: Small anthropomorphized bugs (of which Itsy is one) are picnicking, playing music, and socializing (which cleverly sets up the denouement) when the unsettling weather comes along. The bugs begin to help each other get to safety, and when all get washed out, they all try again—together. This message of picking oneself up after disappointment is delivered playfully, making it appropriately effective for young readers, and the final double-page spread illustration lightly delivers the affirmative ending message: Having friends and helping each other are happier ways to live. The book is well designed, with a variety of visual treatments. Bordered images indicate a sense of containment, while spot art emphasizes forward movement. Double-page spreads highlight expansion and activity. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A heartwarming take on the familiar nursery rhyme. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781536225297
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
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