Young readers will identify with Amber’s desires in this tale and have fun imagining what she might create next.
A mushroom realizes that she doesn’t need to be fancy to stand out in this folk tale from author/illustrator Taiani (MishMish: Spy Cat, 2016, etc.).
Amber, a mushroom, wakes for the first time. After praising several other fungi for their colorful accents and interesting shapes, she’s hurt when a delicate white mushroom calls her ordinary-looking. She asks Beryl, another mushroom, what she looks like; Beryl explains that she and the rest of the colony look the same. Although Beryl tries to assure her that it’s special to be a fairy-ring mushroom, Amber sets off to make “the prettiest hat in the forest.” When she returns to the colony, she sees that the light of the full moon glows on the tops of their hats, and she offers her newly-made hat to a winged fairy. She then realizes that wearing the hat didn’t make her special—making it did. The book’s message, about finding an inner gift, comes through strongly. However, Amber’s realization that the fairy-ring mushrooms are beautiful as well muddles the theme. Taiani’s painterly illustrations have a whimsical tone, perfect for the fairy-story setting. The fairies themselves are diverse in their appearance, which reinforces the sameness of the mushroom colony.
Young readers will identify with Amber’s desires in this tale and have fun imagining what she might create next.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-975920-83-8
Page Count: 36
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 19, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
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