The handsome production values and sincere enthusiasm can’t be denied, but it’s hard to imagine the right audience for this...
Letter by letter, Iwata builds a steampunk world for a story that does not exist and formats it for an audience that can’t possibly comprehend it.
This alphabet board book presents gizmos galore, each handsomely presented with puffs of steam and ornate clockwork decorations. Through the artifacts described, adult readers can begin to understand the civilization that spawned them. A is for Apple (an apple-shaped music box, that is); J is for Jar (a self-opening one); Y is for Yarn (actually, a device that unravels knitwear and re-spools the constituent yarns). Each contrivance is depicted in loving detail, colors applied with an airbrushed (or digital) polish. A short gloss explains its origin and/or use, and it is celebrated in limping verse, as for Helmet: “With steam-powered engines in every household / A good fuel source was more precious than gold / Miners dug deep in the earth and discovered / They stood more of a chance if they kept their heads covered.” Except for the roughly 6-inch-square trim, board pages and large capital letters (presented against a too-busy background of interlocking gears), there is nothing in this book for the traditional board-book audience.
The handsome production values and sincere enthusiasm can’t be denied, but it’s hard to imagine the right audience for this book . (Board book. 13 & up)Pub Date: June 11, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-937359-40-9
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Cameron + Company
Review Posted Online: May 29, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
In this character-driven intergenerational story, Royce Peterson and his single mother have recently moved from Nova Scotia to British Columbia to help care for Arthur, Royce’s 95-year-old grandfather and one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century. After the curmudgeon chases off every aide, the teen is enlisted to watch his grandfather. At first the homesick, friendless and mono-recovering teen and his homebound, rude and crude grandfather are at odds, but then Royce gains new appreciation for Arthur—he caroused with Gloria Vanderbilt and Picasso, traveled the world, loved and lost loves—and Arthur begins to appreciate life again. But just as the pair begins to respect each other, Arthur suffers a series of debilitating strokes and asks Royce to end his life. Inspired by her experience caring for her aged father, Harvey offers a realistic view of the aging process, the difficult decisions left to loved ones and the need for friends and family. Sophisticated readers and fans of Joan Bauer’s Rules of the Road (1998) or Louis Sachar's The Cardturner (2010) will enjoy the grandfather-grandson banter and tenderness. (Fiction. 13 & up)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-55146-226-2
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2010
Two Rio Grande Valley high schoolers flirt with cutting out early but find reasons to finish school in this purposeful but intense tale. For Beto, it’s a combination of pride, disinterest in school and a clash with his caring but harsh father that sends him stalking away to spend the night in a Dumpster. For Beto's longtime friend Jessy, it’s a strong desire to be an artist, plus the strain of hearing her father beating her mother and knowing that her turn will be coming up one of these nights, that drives her to head for the bus to San Antonio. Using a mix of tenses and all three persons, Saldaña lays out his characters’ thoughts and emotional landscapes in broad strokes—creating a third angle of view by adding Beto’s little brother Roelito, who works his nalgas off in school but shows early signs of an ominous anger, as another narrative voice. The action takes place over the course of a little more than 12 hours, neatly capturing the spontaneity of teen impulses. Teen readers chafing at the domestic bit will find food for thought here. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-55885-607-3
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Arte Público
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2010
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