by Nina Crews ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2001
This unusual story uses multiple first-person narrators and photographs of a real family to tell the story of Jonathan, an African-American boy who is bothered by a ghost who has taken up residence in the family home, though only Jonathan can see him. Jonathan’s family blames him for the mysterious flying toys and books and unexplained noises. The ghost is a mischievous poltergeist type, represented in the photographs by a shadowy gray stick figure shadow floating in the air. The story is divided into short chapters printed on different colors for the different narrators, who also include Jonathan’s younger sister, a budding jazz singer, and his beloved uncle Pete, visiting from his ranch home out west. Pete doesn’t admit that he sees the ghost, but he helps Jonathan corral it in a blanket and together they toss the ghost out the window. Most children and some adult readers will take the story literally, but others of a more psychoanalytical bent will attribute the ghostly apparitions to Jonathan’s need for more of the attention that his talented little sister demands. There is no one definitive way to interpret the story, and different interpretations of the plot and the author’s intent could spark some interesting discussions with older children, especially with those learning about point of view. (Picture book. 5-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-688-17673-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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by Pete Seeger & Paul Dubois Jacobs & illustrated by Michael Hays ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2001
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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by Andrew Clements & illustrated by R.W. Alley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 23, 2005
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
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