In this moving tale from Mayer, an emperor chooses to isolate his daughter Shibumi from the squalor of the city by walling her in his palace and gardens. Inevitably, Shibumi peeks over the wall, and is horrified by the poverty she sees. She convinces a kitemaker to build a kite big enough to lift her, and then fly it and her into the air, threatening her father that she won’t come down until he cleans up the city. When her father tries to have the kitemaker killed, the winds sweep both Shibumi and the kitemaker far away. Time passes, the emperor repents and cleans up his city, but war and old age sneak up on him. He longs for the return of his daughter, and doesn’t know that a young samurai is about to make his wish come true. Mayer’s lush illustrations—computer-generated collages of paintings, fabrics, and photographs’share in the narration of the story, e.g., readers, with the emperor, see both the shadow of the kite returning with Shibumi and the samaurai, and its reflection in a nearby pond, but not the kite itself. Such visual nuances heighten the suspense of the storytelling and add a level of sophistication rare for a picture book. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-7614-5054-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1999
One of a four-book series designed to help the very young prepare for new siblings, this title presents a toddler-and-mother pair (the latter heavily pregnant) as they read about new babies, sort hand-me-downs, buy new toys, visit the obstetrician and the sonographer, speculate and wait. Throughout, the child asks questions and makes exclamations with complete enthusiasm: “How big is the baby? What does it eat? I felt it move! Is it a boy or girl?” Fuller’s jolly pictures present a biracial family that thoroughly enjoys every moment together. It’s a bit oversimplified, but no one can complain about the positive message it conveys, appropriately, to its baby and toddler audience. The other titles in the New Baby series are My New Baby (ISBN: 978-1-84643-276-7), Look at Me! (ISBN: 978-1-84643-278-1) and You and Me (ISBN: 978-1-84643-277-4). (Board book. 18 mos.-3)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-84643-275-0
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Child's Play
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
The hazy hot summer seems interminable for a young African-American boy and his pregnant mother. “Can’t cool down!” is the refrain that reverberates throughout the tale, and it’s literally true; lack of rain has put the city on a water conservation alert and the mother worries about all her flowers. Instead of despairing, mother and child surreptitiously water the plants using kitchen pots under the cloak of darkness; the theme of personal resilience and coping permeates the tale. A cooling, life-giving rain heralds the onset of the mother’s labor and the arrival of a new baby sister, Silver Rain Brown. The special bond between mother and son is readily apparent in Flavin’s full-page, full-color illustrations. As for the father, there is only one reference for readers to interpret: “Four a.m. and I can’t sleep, wishing Daddy would come back, wishing, wishing it would rain.” Helldorfer deftly captures the heavy oppressiveness of a summer heat wave, from children attempting to fry eggs on the sidewalk to short tempers and sleeping the hot days away, while Flavin’s illustrations artfully reflect the shimmering cityscapes. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-395-73093-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1999
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