A joyful, visually enchanting ride perfect for sparking curiosity in young explorers everywhere.
Lugo’s picture book celebrates adventures of the imagination across land, sea, and sky.
The author takes budding young adventurers on a ride where they soar above mountain peaks, drift past clouds, dive into an underwater castle with friendly sea creatures, and swing through the jungle alongside cheerful orangutans and wise monkeys. Each page offers a new travel adventure and presents the world as an endless playground. This storybook empowers kids to look at their everyday lives for inspiration to make stories of their own, but also reinforces the idea that there will always be obstacles and inconveniences in every journey: but never fear, because these can lead to intellectual and spiritual growth. The ending encourages self-belief and optimism that feels heartfelt and moving, and the illustrations bring vibrancy and warmth to the book as a whole, with sweeping scenes that beckon the audience into each fantasy location. The expressive, colorful environments elevate the book beyond its words, making each page a visual feast. However, since the text is white it’s sometimes difficult to read when superimposed on a lighter background. Perhaps a different color or placement would help to make it easier for children to follow. The use of capitalization in certain spots felt odd as well: It can work well in poetry or to emphasize a point, but mostly tends to be distracting or awkward.
A joyful, visually enchanting ride perfect for sparking curiosity in young explorers everywhere.Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9798345757093
Page Count: 24
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A charming blend of whimsy and medieval heroism highlighting the triumph of brains over brawn.
A young owl achieves his grand ambition.
Owl, an adorably earnest and gallant little owlet, dreams of being a knight. He imagines himself defeating dragons and winning favor far and wide through his brave exploits. When a record number of knights go missing, Owl applies to Knight School and is surprisingly accepted. He is much smaller than the other knights-in-training, struggles to wield weapons, and has “a habit of nodding off during the day.” Nevertheless, he graduates and is assigned to the Knight Night Watch. While patrolling the castle walls one night, a hungry dragon shows up and Owl must use his wits to avoid meeting a terrible end. The result is both humorous and heartwarming, offering an affirmation of courage and clear thinking no matter one’s size…and demonstrating the power of a midnight snack. The story never directly addresses the question of the missing knights, but it is hinted that they became the dragon’s fodder, leaving readers to question Owl’s decision to befriend the beast. Humor is supplied by the characters’ facial expressions and accented by the fact that Owl is the only animal in his order of big, burly human knights. Denise’s accomplished digital illustrations—many of which are full bleeds—often use a warm sepia palette that evokes a feeling of antiquity, and some spreads feature a pleasing play of chiaroscuro that creates suspense and drama.
A charming blend of whimsy and medieval heroism highlighting the triumph of brains over brawn. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-31062-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
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. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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