May prompt some treasure-seeking on the parts of readers, as well.
On a series of walks with his grandmother, Toshi collects small treasures.
This interactive book celebrates a favorite childhood activity. Toshi’s understanding grandmother gives him a red backpack to store his finds, and off they go: to a nearby riverbank, into town, the forest, the countryside, the park, and the beach. After each double-page spread that shows them exploring each destination and labels some of Toshi’s finds in context, there’s a page of Toshi’s treasures, identified, and a puzzle page of numbered and connected images. Answers, and a bit of further information, are in the back of the book. Toshi’s discoveries may be man-made (a bottle cap, a coin) or natural (an empty snail shell, a feather). Aki’s illustrations have the appearance of swift ink-and-watercolor sketches. With a few surprising exceptions (a crab’s carapace is identified as a horseshoe crab’s, and one picture of a gannet misplaces its yellow markings, among others), they’re recognizable and reasonably accurate. Plastic dinosaurs and soda-can tabs can be found anywhere in this country, but the flora and fauna are more limited to the northeastern states and eastern Canada. (This title was originally published in French, in Quebec.) At the end, Toshi’s grandmother (sadly, the illustrator emphasizes her wrinkles rather than her warmth) identifies some of the animals they saw on their trips. Readers can go back and find them in the various spreads.
May prompt some treasure-seeking on the parts of readers, as well. (Informational picture/puzzle book. 4-10)Pub Date: April 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77138-573-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of...
An international story tackles a serious global issue with Reynolds’ characteristic visual whimsy.
Gie Gie—aka Princess Gie Gie—lives with her parents in Burkina Faso. In her kingdom under “the African sky, so wild and so close,” she can tame wild dogs with her song and make grass sway, but despite grand attempts, she can neither bring the water closer to home nor make it clean. French words such as “maintenant!” (now!) and “maman” (mother) and local color like the karite tree and shea nuts place the story in a French-speaking African country. Every morning, Gie Gie and her mother perch rings of cloth and large clay pots on their heads and walk miles to the nearest well to fetch murky, brown water. The story is inspired by model Georgie Badiel, who founded the Georgie Badiel Foundation to make clean water accessible to West Africans. The details in Reynolds’ expressive illustrations highlight the beauty of the West African landscape and of Princess Gie Gie, with her cornrowed and beaded hair, but will also help readers understand that everyone needs clean water—from the children of Burkina Faso to the children of Flint, Michigan.
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of potable water. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-17258-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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