by Michael Hall ; illustrated by Michael Hall ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 6, 2016
A haunting journey through autumn and a lovely triumph.
Using the point of view of a tree as his visual constant, Hall offers 15 poems inspired by mashed-up words—“Peacefall,” “Plentifall,” and so on—to discover autumn’s many delights.
Days come and go as an unnamed tree observes life and everything else that goes on all around it. The first few double-page spreads set up the languid pace: the drop of acorns, the beginning of a new school year. Soon, some of the tree’s leaves change color. “Autumn / colors, / all around. / And look / (rustle, rustle)— / I’m dressed / for the / season, / too.” The spare text knits a tapestry of gentle, joyous scenes. Trick-or-treaters pass by wearing ghoulish masks, a pair of raccoons feasts on a slice of pumpkin pie, and children play with the fallen leaves. Hall’s digital artwork employs a bold palette on white and soft- to deep-blue backgrounds, accentuating the text’s warmly affectionate tone. Various animals weave in and out of each scenario, including a pair of spirited squirrels with a preference for acorns. Each turn of the page enfolds readers into the passage of time. As the tree says goodbye to migrating geese, the narrative becomes even quieter. “See / the mist. / Hear / the quiet. / Smell / the cold.” Readers know just what’s around the corner. Concluding notes on the various critters the tree observes add some scientific punch.
A haunting journey through autumn and a lovely triumph. (Picture book/poetry. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-238298-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
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by Michael Hall ; illustrated by Michael Hall
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by Michael Hall ; illustrated by Michael Hall
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by Susan Verde ; illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2016
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of...
An international story tackles a serious global issue with Reynolds’ characteristic visual whimsy.
Gie Gie—aka Princess Gie Gie—lives with her parents in Burkina Faso. In her kingdom under “the African sky, so wild and so close,” she can tame wild dogs with her song and make grass sway, but despite grand attempts, she can neither bring the water closer to home nor make it clean. French words such as “maintenant!” (now!) and “maman” (mother) and local color like the karite tree and shea nuts place the story in a French-speaking African country. Every morning, Gie Gie and her mother perch rings of cloth and large clay pots on their heads and walk miles to the nearest well to fetch murky, brown water. The story is inspired by model Georgie Badiel, who founded the Georgie Badiel Foundation to make clean water accessible to West Africans. The details in Reynolds’ expressive illustrations highlight the beauty of the West African landscape and of Princess Gie Gie, with her cornrowed and beaded hair, but will also help readers understand that everyone needs clean water—from the children of Burkina Faso to the children of Flint, Michigan.
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of potable water. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-17258-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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by Susan Verde ; illustrated by Juliana Perdomo
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by Susan Verde ; illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
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by Susan Verde ; illustrated by Juliana Perdomo
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings
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by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino
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