A cheerfully chaotic and amusing addition to the genre of metafictional picture books.
A story (of sorts) gets assembled using an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach.
The unseen narrator assures readers that the book in hand is in fact everybody’s favorite book: “I’ll explain.” There is a hero, a “space ninja cow” (an unfortunate, implied truncation of “cowboy”) named Bob, gendered male despite a prominent udder. And there is a villain: “A robo-dragon pie” (another implied truncation, this time of “pirate”). But just as these two get an epic battle underway, the narrator acknowledges that some readers prefer nonviolent stories. In comes a pink-gowned, brown-skinned girl, Princess Glittersprinkles. It’s clear that the narrator author has already lost control of the story to an imaginary group of opinionated young readers with diverse taste in books. Backgrounds, palettes, and typefaces change from spread to spread as other popular characters and themes are allowed a part to play: a very large hamster, poop-joke comedians, coder/spy kids (one white and three of color), some vocabulary words (including “gallimaufry”), zombies, etc. Silliness abounds as the energy level on each increasingly crowded page ramps up. Almon adopts a good-natured and blithely commercial cartoon illustration style, inserting each new character and idea in a hilariously clashing way. Young listeners may enjoy reflecting on their individual reading tastes and may find new appreciation for the simplicity of a smaller set of story elements.
A cheerfully chaotic and amusing addition to the genre of metafictional picture books. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-13276-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Imprint
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An action-packed romp.
Superheroes deal with their emotions.
What happens when the empowered have a terrible day? Becker posits that while they could go on destructive sprees and wreak havoc, the caped crusaders and men and women of steel harness their energies and direct it in constructive ways. Little readers filled with energy and emotion may learn to draw similar conclusions, but the author doesn’t hammer home the message. The author has much more fun staging scenes of chaos and action, and Kaban clearly has a ball illustrating them. Superheroes could use laser vision to burn down forests and weather powers to freeze beachgoers. They could ignore crime sprees and toss vehicles across state lines. These hypothetical violent spectacles are softened by the cartoonish stylizations and juxtaposed with pages filled with heroic, “true” efforts such as rounding up criminals and providing fun at an amusement park. The illustrations are energetic and feature multicultural heroes. The vigorous illustrations make this a read for older children, as the busyness could overwhelm very little ones. While the book’s formula recalls How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? and its many sequels, the relative scarcity of superhero picture books means there’s a place on the shelf for it.
An action-packed romp. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4549-1394-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Birdsong began her career as a teacher, and the book will find repeated use in the classroom.
A multicultural girl-power manifesto featuring a feisty young girl who faces her day as a knight on an epic quest.
The unnamed narrator puts on her “armor” (a rainbow sweater) and fills her “treasure chest” (a backpack). Venturing forth to “explore new worlds,” she drives back “dragons” (neighborhood dogs on their walk), boards the “many-headed serpent” (her school bus, with schoolmates’ heads protruding from every window), and visits “the Mountain of Knowledge” (the school library) to “solve the mysteries of the unknown.” After standing up for her beliefs—by joining a classmate sitting alone in the cafeteria—the young girl returns home to rest in the lap of an older female relative, possibly a grandparent/primary caregiver, to prepare for the next day, when she can be “fierce again.” Birdsong’s repeated refrain—“I will be fierce!”—underlines the unambiguous message of this sassy picture book, and Chanani’s bold and energetic illustrations reinforce the text’s punchy, feminist-y declarations. They depict a joyously multiracial environment, consciously tackling stereotypes with an elderly, white, female bus driver and a groovy, Asian-presenting librarian with a green streak in her hair. The fierce protagonist herself has brown skin and fluffy, dark brown hair, and her caregiver also has brown skin.
Birdsong began her career as a teacher, and the book will find repeated use in the classroom. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 23, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-29508-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
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