Like the smile on the dolls that Goldie Rosenzweig makes, this little book is captivating. Never mind that there's a lot more story than the small size would suggest, that, unlike the earlier Goffsteins, there's much more text than illustration; never mind even (though children may, a little) that the first two illustrations don't jibe with the text. The more you know Goldie, the more you appreciate her: going about her dead parents' house continuing their work of making dolls, oblivious of day and night until each one is complete; ordering a crate from Omus Hirschbein and explaining why she uses only pristine sticks of wood, not his clean, square scraps; visiting the bakery where a little girl buys a sugar cookie to share with a Goldie Rosenzweig doll. Then, in the shop where Mr. Solomon sells her dolls, Goldie is enchanted by a lovely little Chinese lamp; he will take her next three months' output for it, so Goldie carries it off. But Omus Hirschbein calls it "cute," calls her "a real artist — because you're crazy," and she has sad second thoughts; until the lampmaker enters her dreams, insisting "I made the lamp for you — whoever you are," and she realizes, with complete satisfaction, that that's just the way she works. Worth finding the right child or family for and then, again like Goldie's dolls, it will sell itself.
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 1969
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1969
A joyful celebration.
Families in a variety of configurations play, dance, and celebrate together.
The rhymed verse, based on a song from the Noodle Loaf children’s podcast, declares that “Families belong / Together like a puzzle / Different-sized people / One big snuggle.” The accompanying image shows an interracial couple of caregivers (one with brown skin and one pale) cuddling with a pajama-clad toddler with light brown skin and surrounded by two cats and a dog. Subsequent pages show a wide array of families with members of many different racial presentations engaging in bike and bus rides, indoor dance parties, and more. In some, readers see only one caregiver: a father or a grandparent, perhaps. One same-sex couple with two children in tow are expecting another child. Smart’s illustrations are playful and expressive, curating the most joyful moments of family life. The verse, punctuated by the word together, frequently set in oversized font, is gently inclusive at its best but may trip up readers with its irregular rhythms. The song that inspired the book can be found on the Noodle Loaf website.
A joyful celebration. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22276-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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