A stubborn lemon realizes the world beyond his tree is worth exploring.
High in the boughs of the mother lemon tree, the tiny lemon children joyfully bounce and giggle, talk and sing, looking forward to turning yellow. But not Tony, a “pretty miserable lemon” who prefers to stay in the shade, hoping to retain his lime-green complexion. The target of his siblings’ constant rhyming taunts, Tony continues to sour. Soon all the other lemons are bright yellow and ripe, and Tony is abandoned as they jump from the tree into the world. Stubborn and lonely, Tony is visited by several wild animals who help him gain the courage to take a leap of faith, but is it too late? Translated from the German, Brönner’s third-person narrative is lively and descriptive. The story’s message is conveyed with a light comedic tone that deftly avoids veering into the pedantic. Dialogue, presented in hand-lettered, underlined text placed near the speaker, provides much of the sophisticated humor. The painterly illustrations employ a vibrant color palette, reminiscent of Brian Wildsmith’s style. The lemons, including Tony, have personality to spare, with spindly limbs, tiny eyes, full sets of teeth, and extremely long noses. Although the ending feels slightly too quiet after the book’s dramatic buildup, late bloomers will relate to Tony’s feelings.
A humorous tale that encourages stepping out into the unknown, even if it’s scary (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4418-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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BOOK REVIEW
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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