Months after Dad's sudden death, a young boy reminisces about the family's happy times together as he goes with Mom and his little sister to scatter the last of Dad's ashes at a river; they have also put some in other places Dad loved—the ocean, their garden. In the carefully woven narrative, well-chosen specifics form a gentle picture of a family whose comforting memories are gradually transforming their sharp grief; in the end, the boy realizes that ``There's a part of Dad in us, too.'' Ray provides misty, beautifully constructed illustrations in muted tones, her generalized faces and settings lending the story universality. A good addition to its genre. (Picture book. 4-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-316-54324-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1991
Diarist Keena Ford is ambivalent about second grade: Girls and boys are placed in separate classes, so she will not be with her best friend, Eric. But she resolves to do her best and when Ms. Coleman turns up on the first day of school in a “COOL BELT WITH SPARKLES,” she decides things are looking up. When she mixes up her dates and leads her teacher to believe that the next day is her birthday, greed for chocolate cake overcomes honesty, plunging her into ever-deeper hot water. Morrison’s amiable illustrations clearly depict Keena as a lively African-American girl, but there is little in the text to lend her any ethnic or cultural specificity. The result is that she seems to be just another sassy, impulsive chapter-book heroine à la Clementine or Moxy Maxwell. Still, her escapades and the way she handles them ring with an emotional honesty readers will recognize: If she continues to develop, she has the potential to become a genuine character in her own right. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: July 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3263-6
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A well-written fantasy adventure for lovers of pirates and haters of siblings.
Crispin escapes to a world of pirates and dragons in Dickison’s fantasy-adventure novel.
Crispin, a boy around 10 years old, who is white with light-brown spiky hair, has a sister named Rose. She may want to play on a rainy day, but Crispin is already out the door and jumping into a puddle that transports him straight to another world. He joins a frog pirate crew and vows to find a magical sword that so far has eluded his grasp. “Now weigh the anchor, hoist the flag, the plans have all been made: Today we search the seven seas to find the LIGHTNING BLADE!” But before they can even cast off, Rose floats down from the sky on an umbrella. Crispin is against her being on the ship, but her offer of snacks and decluttering is enough to buy her passage. As she works, the pirates sail from whirlpool to jungle and from Lava Peak to Ocean’s End to seek out the missing weapon. Just as Crispin begins to accept Rose’s presence, a red dragon kidnaps her. Dickison’s debut as an author/illustrator has it all: a relatable sibling relationship, powerful treasure, and even cannibals. His depictions of Rose and Crispin in a world of lush color echo the magic of Studio Ghibli films like My Neighbor Totoro (1988). The rhyming couplets provide the story with a traditional lilt that lends it the timelessness of a classic picture book.
A well-written fantasy adventure for lovers of pirates and haters of siblings.Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9781591281078
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Canonball Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 22, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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