Absurdist and realistic at the same time, this Israeli mermaid tale requires a dry sense of humor.
Grain-of-Sand, a mermaid, suddenly appears in Mr. Whatwilltheysay’s apartment.
Greatly concerned with his neighbors’ opinions, blank-faced Mr. Whatwilltheysay wants the mermaid to leave, but only when no one can see her. Although he is attracted to her, he cannot imagine marrying her, her bottom half consisting of a fish tail—he is true to his rather obvious name. She rightly calls him out on his fish-shaming: “You’re saying that because you have legs.” She keeps trying to introduce her watery ways into his humdrum life, but he’s not falling for her the way that males usually do in mermaid tales. When she disappears, he realizes his mistake. He madly searches the Tel Aviv waterfront and, on the fourth night, finally spots her, rising majestically from the waves, in the bathtub she stole from his apartment. The old stories do ring true, but after the fearful guy joins her, Grain-of-Sand has the last word: “I saved the tub stopper for you, my darling.” The two main characters present white. Inspired by mermaid legends, this Israeli import has a wry humor that may mystify young readers here. The surrealist illustrations feature intense colors on very shiny paper; they will draw everyone’s attention, children and adults alike.
Absurdist and realistic at the same time, this Israeli mermaid tale requires a dry sense of humor. (Picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-63206-211-6
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Restless Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
Approachable and comfortably predictable.
A young ghost arrives at Scare School.
Unlike big sister Bella, late bloomer Bash has never been good at “all the GHOST STUFF.” Dad’s sure that Scare School is just what Bash needs. Bash isn’t so certain; he’s intimidated by his classmates and teachers. But he perks up when he meets his roommate, Itsy, a smart, welcoming spider, though he vows to steer clear of mean-spirited Vlad and Vicky. Still, the dreaded Creature Aptitude Test worries Bash. To pass, he must pass through solid objects and turn himself invisible—skills he struggles with. Bash doesn’t want to be kicked out of school, so he’ll have to buckle down. With Itsy’s help and encouragement from his classmates, Bash realizes he’s more capable than he thought. Written in first person from endearingly anxious Bash’s point of view, the book has a diarylike feel. The text is presented in a handwritten font, while grayscale cartoon illustrations are peppered throughout. The supportive, sincere friendship between Bash and Itsy is the most compelling part of the story. Letters between Bash and Bella shed further light on Bash’s personality and their relationship. Though the book’s takeaway—believe in yourself, and you can do anything—is a familiar one, it’s just what many children need…and who better to deliver the message than an adorably nervous ghost?
Approachable and comfortably predictable. (Fiction. 6-8)Pub Date: July 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781665922098
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
Series fans won’t be disappointed, but young readers and listeners who know only the original ditty may find this a touch...
Having eaten pretty much everything on land in 13 previous versions of the classic song, Colandro’s capaciously stomached oldster goes to sea.
Once again the original cumulative rhyme’s naturalistic aspects are dispensed with, so that not only doesn’t the old lady die, but neither do any of the creatures she consumes. Instead, the titular shark “left no mark,” a squid follows down the hatch to “float with the shark,” a fish to “dance with the squid,” an eel to “brighten the fish” (with “fluorescent light!” as a subsequent line explains), and so on—until at the end it’s revealed to be all pretending anyway on a visit to an aquarium. Likewise, though Lee outfits the bespectacled binge-eater with a finny tail and the requisite bra for most of the extended episode, she regains human feet and garb at the end. In the illustrations, the old lady and one of the two children who accompany her are pink-skinned; the other has frizzy hair and an amber complexion. A set of nature notes on the featured victims and a nautical seek-and-find that will send viewers back to the earlier pictures modestly enhance this latest iteration.
Series fans won’t be disappointed, but young readers and listeners who know only the original ditty may find this a touch bland. (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-338-12993-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2017
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