Find this book.
Lines blur between reality and fantasy in this tale of a beloved stuffed rabbit who is lost and found.
A title-page illustration shows a child with brown skin and wavy dark hair clutching a plush bunny while walking toward two adults (one has similar coloring; the other is lighter-skinned) who are packing a car with a canoe strapped to its roof. As the trio drive off on their camping trip, the child holds the stuffed rabbit out a rolled-down window. It becomes clear that the titular you refers to the toy, as the child loses hold of it. The rabbit sails out the window and into the roadside woods. While it’s hard to understand why the family doesn’t stop the car to look for the toy, their inaction is crucial to the plot: It is in the woods that the toy comes to life. Forest creatures, including a friendly fox, come upon the rabbit, and “That’s when lost can become something else.” Whimsical descriptions of “something else” might be obscure for some readers (“A poem without words. // A song without notes. // A light / a breath / a world / a celebration”), but accompanying watercolor-and-ink illustrations, which make dramatic use of perspective, ground the story in the rabbit’s playful explorations of the woods with new woodland friends. A reunion between bunny and child rounds out this sweet story, with a cozy campfire delivering a happily-ever-after ending. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Find this book. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 25, 2023
ISBN: 9780593375310
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Anne Schwartz/Random
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Sentimental but effective.
A book aimed at easing separation anxiety and reinforcing bonds.
Twins Liza and Jeremy awaken during a thunderstorm and go to their mother for comfort. She reassures them that they’re safe and says, “You know we’re always together, no matter what,” when they object to returning to bed. She then explains that when she was a child her mother told her about the titular “Invisible String,” encouraging them to envision it as a link between them no matter what. “People who love each other are always connected by a very special String made of love,” she tells them, reinforcing this idea as they proceed to imagine various scenarios, fantastic and otherwise, that might cause them to be separated in body. She also affirms that this string can “reach all the way to Uncle Brian in heaven” and that it doesn’t go away if she’s angry with them or when they have conflicts. As they go to bed, reassured, the children, who present white, imagine their friends and diverse people around the world connected with invisible strings, promoting a vision of global unity and empathy. While the writing often feels labored and needlessly repetitive, Lew-Vriethoff’s playful cartoon art enhances and lightens the message-driven text, which was originally published in 2000 with illustrations by Geoff Stevenson.
Sentimental but effective. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-48623-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2018
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
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