The joy of generosity comes across despite a few puzzlements.
In this children’s picture book, children feed a hungry red cardinal.
Last summer, while visiting New York City, five siblings—Ella, Luke, John, JP, and Christoph—went to a park and, noticing a brilliant red cardinal, fed him some of their fruit and nuts. The friendly bird wore a captain’s hat, so the kids dubbed him Captain Cardinal, or CC for short. Now it’s winter, and finding food short, CC leaves the city and searches for his friends over many days. Finally, he discovers five children playing outside in the snow. Recognizing their friend, the children rush inside in a frenzy: “We have to feed him!” Their mother agrees, and while gathering nuts, seeds, and fruit, reminds the children, “We are God’s hand on this earth to feed the hungry, not just the birds.” After the children fill the bird feeder, CC (and other animals) eats his fill, and all are happy. Femenella (The Rock: Foundation of All Life, 2016) links her story explicitly to biblical commands about helping the needy, although all can relate to the pleasures of giving. She conveys the children’s excitement well and—in a beautiful line—the bird’s gratitude: “CC looked at the children with thanksgiving in his eyes.” Dale’s illustrations are a real plus, lively and bright. The unexplained captain’s hat strikes an odd note; additionally, because cardinals flock together in winter, especially when food is scarce, CC’s solitary behavior is strange.
The joy of generosity comes across despite a few puzzlements.Pub Date: April 23, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-973617-89-1
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
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