Solid rhymes and diverse representation freshen a familiar theme.
A pair of children imagine the possibilities of their futures in this inclusive picture book.
When a girl with brown skin and brown curls questions her purpose in life, she says, “Sometimes I sit and I think about me. / I let my imagination go wild, go free!” As the girl imagines her future, she thinks of colorful prospects, distant places, and jobs she might have. But she knows she’s not the only one with a purpose: Everyone, she says, has a future path to dream into being despite any obstacles. Dunsen-White’s strong rhyme scheme carries the book through familiar waters, lingering only briefly on possible careers and focusing more on the journey toward the future. Although the book isn’t explicitly faith-based, a few notes indicate the girl’s belief not only in herself, but in something larger than her; this reference makes it easy to adapt the text to suit the needs of spiritually inclined readers. Illustrator Rizzo’s whimsical cartoon images highlight the colorful imagination of the point-of-view character, and inclusive rhymes, such as “Although I am probably different from you, / You have a purpose, deep down inside too” are surrounded by illustrations of children of various abilities and skin tones. The final pages encourage further discussion with family members.
Solid rhymes and diverse representation freshen a familiar theme.Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-955154-08-6
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
SEEN & HEARD
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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