Vivid, offbeat, and instructive.
An unseen author guides a scribble through the elements of story creation.
A paintbrush dabs a pear-shaped orange blob onto the page, then pencil lines are added, making a face, arms and legs, and voilà: Scribble. Author, appearing only as a disembodied voice, announces that the scribble will be given the opportunity to make a journey. The text and illustrations are completely interdependent. Although Author never appears, digitally collaged-in photographs of a sharp pencil, a brush, and an eraser, later joined by lined paper, a sharpener, and cellophane tape, all play a role in the evolving story. Author’s voice takes the form of narrative text in a type reminiscent of an old-style typewriter, while Scribble interacts with faux hand-printed dialogue in speech balloons. The scribble must make all the decisions, passing along a curvy yellow road through gates that lead to the beginning, middle, and end of the story, all rendered in softly hued watercolor with a bit of black line for definition. Author encourages, exhorts, challenges, and offers suggestions, while Scribble makes inventive use of the accouterments provided by Author. Leshem-Pelly endows Scribble with a childlike demeanor and the willingness to go along on this new adventure. At times Author can be annoying, didactic, and pushy, but Scribble valiantly carries on, finally arriving at an imaginative happy ending.
Vivid, offbeat, and instructive. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-61067-575-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
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
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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