by Mini Grey & illustrated by Mini Grey ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 5, 2011
A cat, dog and mouse live peacefully in their seaside shack—each doing his or her part to keep the household humming: Cat cleans (between naps), Mouse cooks dinner (cheese fondue only) and Dog busily buries bones. One day, a fox with a briefcase labeled “Winds of Change Trading Company Ltd.” washes ashore on a flower-patterned air mattress, dons his stripey gangster suit and barges into this salty little Eden. With meaningful whispers and strategic gifts, the out-of-the-blue Stranger sows the seeds of discontent. Dog suddenly notices Cat is, perhaps, no Martha Stewart, Cat questions Dog’s somewhat limited garden… and even enthusiasm for Mouse’s daily fondue congeals. A heated fight erupts at dinner! Heartsick Mouse runs away, but, happily, his dramatic near-drowning reunites the torn-apart trio. Still, the winds of change have blown in and enriched their once-complacent lives, infusing this pithy British import with an unusual and thought-provoking message. Grey’s wonderfully expressive, richly textured mixed-media collages leap and bound with funny details (like the “All-Purpose Flakes” box in the kitchen, perfect for both baking and bathing). Vivacious design elements such as comic-strip–like panels for action sequences and cut strips of type for the dialogue in the climactic fight add further fun. The clear, clever text—rendered in a large font—is as fresh and invigorating as the rest. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: April 5, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-375-86784-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
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More by A.F. Harrold
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by A.F. Harrold ; illustrated by Mini Grey
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by Christina Soontornvat ; illustrated by Barbara Szepesi Szucs ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 25, 2019
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.
Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.
The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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by Sarah Mlynowski & Christina Soontornvat ; illustrated by Maxine Vee
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by Christina Soontornvat ; illustrated by Kevin Hong
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by Christina Soontornvat ; illustrated by Kevin Hong
by Andrea Beaty ; illustrated by David Roberts ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 7, 2023
A much-needed reminder that kindness will always win out.
Teachers influence children profoundly.
From earliest childhood, Lila Greer, the youngest of five in a single-dad household, has been a worrier. Then the family moves. Entering second grade feels overwhelming: Nothing’s familiar, and she has no friends. But Ms. Kern, Lila’s new teacher, invites Lila to erase the chalkboard at recess and to articulate her fears. It helps that someone listens. Soon, classmates get into the act, and lonely Lila makes friends, emerges from her shell, and learns that “what ifs” have positive sides. Lila grows up, still fretting sometimes, and then becomes a new teacher who worries upon meeting her own students. But then she remembers the teacher who helped her overcome her fears and doubts years earlier. What was that marvelous, ineffable quality Ms. Kern possessed? Then Lila remembers: It was kindness! Harnessing that memory, Lila now welcomes her own “smiling young faces.” This is a sweet story that emphasizes good cheer, helpfulness, and the importance of feeling welcome and heard, no matter who you are: terrific messages, expressed in bouncy verses that scan well. The illustrations are colorfully lively. Readers will appreciate occasional displays of humorous and quirky typesetting creativity and will admire Lila’s poufy topknot, which resembles a huge ball of yarn. Lila is light-skinned, Ms. Kern is tan-skinned, and other characters are diverse.
A much-needed reminder that kindness will always win out. (author’s note) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781419769047
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
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by Andrea Beaty ; illustrated by David Roberts
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by Andrea Beaty ; illustrated by Dow Phumiruk
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by Andrea Beaty ; illustrated by David Roberts
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