A tame and traditional choice for bedtime.
As mother tries to coax them to sleep, two white children, presumably brother and sister, lie together in a shared bed, listening to the wind whipping around them and asking question after question about what they hear.
In response to the children’s quandaries, the unseen mother offers whimsical reasons for the wind’s powerful sounds. The pages alternate between the unsettled children tossing and turning in near darkness and colorful depictions of the children’s interpretations of the mother’s explanations. These spreads each include four words that correspond to the images. Sometimes the words rhyme or use alliteration (“away day”; “rocking rolling”), but there is no consistent pattern. The placement of most of the text on one spread and a sprinkle of words on the next could make this book useful for established readers to share aloud with beginners; however, the faint color and scriptlike display type unfortunately render some words hard to read. The illustrations succeed at conveying a sense of the wind blowing but do not stand out as particularly compelling. The children’s hair, clothing, and even their facial expressions are stiff in contrast to the movement of the wind. The overall effect is that the book feels somewhat dated. It concludes with a one-page list of facts about wind.
A tame and traditional choice for bedtime. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5132-6074-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: WestWinds Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
A slight addition to a seasonal collection redeemed by its striking illustrations.
A dialogic approach to the turn of the seasons.
A young child, with beige skin and dark hair, and a white dog walk through the darkened, snowy countryside. They greet the snow and the winter night; a frozen pond and an empty nest; and even a glass house. Each in turn answers back, offering insight into their experience of the chilly atmosphere. Following a wordless spread that serves as a pictorial climax, the season shifts toward spring, with increased sunlight, warmth, melting snow, and the renewed presence of songbirds and flowers. The world has come to life again, and the child and dog run through green fields sparsely patched with retreating snow. The contrasting color palettes and geometric shapes in the accumulating spreads effectively evoke the stark darkness of winter and the bright warmth of spring. Ground-level and bird’s-eye perspectives of the rural setting and tiny details reward eagle-eyed readers. The rapid change from nocturnal winter storm to bright, green spring day seems a bit contrived, underscoring the book’s premise of transition and metamorphosis. Moreover, the child’s conversation with the natural world at times leaves readers unclear of who is speaking, which may cause confusion during a read-aloud. This is the third book in Pak’s seasonal cycle.
A slight addition to a seasonal collection redeemed by its striking illustrations. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-15172-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
Earnest and silly by turns, it doesn’t quite capture the attention or the imagination, although surely its heart is in the...
Rhymed couplets convey the story of a girl who likes to build things but is shy about it. Neither the poetry nor Rosie’s projects always work well.
Rosie picks up trash and oddments where she finds them, stashing them in her attic room to work on at night. Once, she made a hat for her favorite zookeeper uncle to keep pythons away, and he laughed so hard that she never made anything publicly again. But when her great-great-aunt Rose comes to visit and reminds Rosie of her own past building airplanes, she expresses her regret that she still has not had the chance to fly. Great-great-aunt Rose is visibly modeled on Rosie the Riveter, the iconic, red-bandanna–wearing poster woman from World War II. Rosie decides to build a flying machine and does so (it’s a heli-o-cheese-copter), but it fails. She’s just about to swear off making stuff forever when Aunt Rose congratulates her on her failure; now she can go on to try again. Rosie wears her hair swooped over one eye (just like great-great-aunt Rose), and other figures have exaggerated hairdos, tiny feet and elongated or greatly rounded bodies. The detritus of Rosie’s collections is fascinating, from broken dolls and stuffed animals to nails, tools, pencils, old lamps and possibly an erector set. And cheddar-cheese spray.
Earnest and silly by turns, it doesn’t quite capture the attention or the imagination, although surely its heart is in the right place. (historical note) (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4197-0845-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
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