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
Gentieu creates an engaging set of photographs for very young eyes. Every spread pairs a large full-color close-up of an infant and a phrase that has clearly recognizable echoes for adults: “Where are baby’s toes?” and “How big is baby?” On the facing page, superimposed against soft pastel backgrounds, are several smaller photographs of infants engaged in a relevant activity, e.g., “Clap hands baby!” appears with babies engaged in enthusiastic attempts at patty-cake. Clad in colorful diapers, these cherubs smile, frown, laugh, and frolic through the book, candidly expressing a wide range of emotions. The direct correlation between text and photos provide children with visual clues that reinforce their comprehension of basic words and phrases. (Picture book. 1-3)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-517-80028-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An outstanding intergenerational tale that captures a slice of life in contemporary China. Mei-Mei and her grandfather get up early, breakfast together, board a bicycle, and travel congested streets to a local park. There they hang the cage of their song bird in a tree, amid dozens of others, so the birds can sing together. They greet their friends, practice tai-chi, have a jar of tea, and then ride home through the market, where they get four crisp pancakes wrapped in a sheet of newspaper. The soft watercolor illustrations capture the loving relationship between grandfather and granddaughter, and provide a glimpse of a busy Chinese town, where ancient terra-cotta roofed buildings are juxtaposed with farm animals on the way to market, and details from the family kitchen are contrasted with streets bustling with cars, trucks, bicycles, and vendors. The book is useful for multicultural studies, but shines as a warm family story. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8075-5039-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1999
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