The commotion over preparations for Mama’s surprise birthday party form the basis for Quattlebaum’s latest, told from the point of view one of the daughters in the household. “To buy” and “to do” lists are quickly compiled with the help of two well-meaning aunts, slapdash Aunt CeeCee and nitpicking Aunt Belle, with nary a thought given to what could go wrong. In no time, little sister Flo is boo-hooing and younger brother Squeal nearly gives away the surprise. The father forgets the password, the cats tear into the presents, and the cake is still “bald as a stone” as the clock tick-ticks toward party time. Only a “take-charge kind of girl” can save the day, and the young narrator does precisely that. Mama’s surprise is no surprise to readers, but despite the anticipated event, it’s the prelude that counts. Snazzy Jazz-Age-inspired drawings are as full of fuss and frenzy as the party preliminaries themselves. Chesworth uses comic-book style panels to divulge action and dialogue balloons to deliver sharp humor. A whispered conversation not meant to be heard by Mama is cleverly rendered in silhouette. This is ideal for those who prefer the fixings over the fanfare of the festivities themselves. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: May 11, 1999
ISBN: 0-385-32275-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
There is something profoundly elemental going on in Smalls’s book: the capturing of a moment of unmediated joy. It’s not melodramatic, but just a Saturday in which an African-American father and son immerse themselves in each other’s company when the woman of the house is away. Putting first things first, they tidy up the house, with an unheralded sense of purpose motivating their actions: “Then we clean, clean, clean the windows,/wipe, wipe, wash them right./My dad shines in the windows’ light.” When their work is done, they head for the park for some batting practice, then to the movies where the boy gets to choose between films. After a snack, they work their way homeward, racing each other, doing a dance step or two, then “Dad takes my hand and slows down./I understand, and we slow down./It’s a long, long walk./We have a quiet talk and smile.” Smalls treats the material without pretense, leaving it guileless and thus accessible to readers. Hays’s artwork is wistful and idyllic, just as this day is for one small boy. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-316-79899-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
Picture-book debuts for both author and illustrator result in an affectionate glimpse of intergenerational bonds. Juno loves to get letters in the red-and-blue bordered airmail envelopes that come from his grandmother, who lives in Korea, near Seoul. He cannot read Korean, but he opens the letter anyway, and learns what he can from what his grandmother has sent: a photograph of herself and her new cat, and a dried flower from her garden. When his parents read him the letter, he realizes how much he learned from the other things his grandmother mailed to him. He creates some drawings of himself, his parents, house, and dog, and sends them along with a big leaf from his swinging tree. He gets back a package that includes drawing pencils and a small airplane—the grandmother is coming to visit. The messages that can be conveyed without words, language differences between generations, and family ties across great distances are gently and affectingly handled in this first picture book. The illustrations, done in oil-paint glazes, are beautifully lit; the characters, particularly Grandmother, with her bowl of persimmons, her leafy garden, and her grey bun that looks “like a powdered doughnut,” are charming. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-670-88252-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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