Rosen, Michael CROW AND HAWK A traditional Pueblo Indian tale, spectacularly illustrated with cut-paper collages—assemblages of sharp shapes, set against blue and clay-red backgrounds that are crammed with details to pore over. Crow gets tired of waiting for her eggs to hatch and abandons her nest; Hawk finds the nest, hatches the eggs, and raises the baby crows; Crow returns to the nest and demands to have her babies back, Hawk refuses, and Eagle resolves the conflict by letting the baby crows choose their mother. But most of this tale of justice, told in a telegraphic style, is found in the pictures, not in the words. Clementson breaks down his spreads into wide main panels, which feature vividly colored pictures, and narrow side panels, which contain the text plus stylized images; the text then acts as subtitles to go with the images in the larger sections. The borders are full of endless variety of decorative patterns, reminiscent of Pueblo Indian designs; but the frames are never restrictive. The characters cut across every barrier and fly off the edge of the page. Everything is in motion in these dynamic pictures, in this dynamic book. (Picture book/folklore. 3-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-15-200257-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1995
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
A book that will make young dog-owners smile in recognition and confirm dogless readers' worst suspicions about the mayhem caused by pets, even winsome ones. Sam, who bears passing resemblance to an affable golden retriever, is praised for fetching the family newspaper, and goes on to fetch every other newspaper on the block. In the next story, only the children love Sam's swimming; he is yelled at by lifeguards and fishermen alike when he splashes through every watering hole he can find. Finally, there is woe to the entire family when Sam is bored and lonely for one long night. Boland has an essential message, captured in both both story and illustrations of this Easy-to-Read: Kids and dogs belong together, especially when it's a fun-loving canine like Sam. An appealing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8037-1530-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996
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