A fresh and funny take on an old moral.
A young artist learns that our inner worlds are more than what meets the eye.
An unnamed child is on a seemingly simple mission: to draw a bunch of birds and sketch a house for each of them. At first, the brown-skinned protagonist’s creative process is fairly straightforward, matching each avian to a home that shares their physical characteristics. “Red for red,” the narrator explains, and “tall for tall.” Readers receive a bird’s-eye view of the drawings, rendered in perfect, youthful splendor by Juanita. Despite the child’s best efforts, the birds don’t seem to agree with their housing assignments. Blue Bird and Orange Bird want to swap spots while Large Bird prefers a tiny abode. Ducks may typically be found in ponds, but the young artist’s duck “[doesn’t] swim, man.” As the discerning birds and their maker argue, the frustrated child soon realizes that the birds’ unexpected preferences are not the issue—the artist’s own assumptions are. Instead of guessing based on presuppositions, the protagonist learns that simply asking is the best way to know what someone likes. Interactions among the child and their artistic subjects are depicted in Juanita’s expressive signature style; her use of texture, color, and detail is the book’s highlight. They expand on Maynor’s thoughtful—if rather clunky—narrative, together comically teaching youth to let others define themselves and avoid the pitfalls of inadvertent stereotyping. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 14.1% of actual size.)
A fresh and funny take on an old moral. (Picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: Feb. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-984896-48-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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