by Mary Parkinson ; illustrated by Imani Dumas ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 9, 2019
A serious but age-appropriate and playfully delivered message.
Animals celebrate as children extol the benefits of a plant-based diet in this picture book.
Through the pages of this earnest picture book about how a vegan diet can help the planet and the creatures on it, children hold fruits, grains, and vegetables as they describe how animals react “when I eat plants.” Pigs kick back in lounge chairs, chickens dance, a cow chills in a hammock, and deer skip through the woods. And when “we” eat a plant-based diet, the story concludes, “Mother Earth wraps her arms around us in a great, big hug.” Parkinson and illustrator Dumas (co-authors: Green Picks 5 Beans, 2019, etc.) shape their timely message with a light touch. Dumas’ illustrations, done with childlike awkwardness in what appears to be pen and watercolor, portray comical animals and diverse boys and girls with dark and light hair and different shades of skin. The book ends with four, tasty-sounding, plant-based recipes and a plea to adults “to be honest with children” about how the farming and eating of animals and animal products adversely affects the health of the Earth and all living things. This is followed by information aimed at adults listing ways that eating animal protein affects economics, poverty, the climate, and human health. Regrettably, the author does not include sources for most of the information listed (that the meat industry contributes to greenhouse gases, for example).
A serious but age-appropriate and playfully delivered message.Pub Date: Oct. 9, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-73204-626-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Healthy Planet Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Greg Abbott ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 5, 2017
Playful, engaging, and full of opportunities for empathy—a raucous storytime hit.
Readers try to dislodge a monster from the pages of this emotive and interactive read-aloud.
“OH NO!” the story starts. “There’s a monster in your book!” The blue, round-headed monster with pink horns and a pink-tipped tail can be seen cheerfully munching on the opening page. “Let’s try to get him out,” declares the narrator. Readers are encouraged to shake, tilt, and spin the book around, while the monster careens around an empty background looking scared and lost. Viewers are exhorted to tickle the monster’s feet, blow on the page, and make a really loud noise. Finally, shockingly, it works: “Now he’s in your room!” But clearly a monster in your book is safer than a monster in your room, so he’s coaxed back into the illustrations and lulled to sleep, curled up under one page and cuddling a bit of another like a child with their blankie. The monster’s entirely cute appearance and clear emotional reactions to his treatment add to the interactive aspect, and some young readers might even resist the instructions to avoid hurting their new pal. Children will be brought along on the monster’s journey, going from excited, noisy, and wiggly to calm and steady (one can hope).
Playful, engaging, and full of opportunities for empathy—a raucous storytime hit. (Picture book. 2-7)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6456-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
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by Carson Ellis ; illustrated by Carson Ellis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 24, 2015
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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