A strong quest tale encouraging imagination, movement, and hard work.
This 16th installment of Once Upon a Dance’s children’s book series presents a birthday story about the value of a journey.
A White child named Frankie who lives on Anorac Island is excited about a birthday tradition. Birthday kids on Anorac can travel to a nearby island to make a wish on a magical blue feather. Frankie intends to wish to become a famous dancer. After some advice from Auntie Duke to “use your mind, body, and imagination as you wander in the wonder”; ask for help when needed; and be open-minded, Frankie heads off. In the forest, Frankie meets a talking eagle, flowers that deliver a mysterious message, a riddle-telling Tyrannosaurus rex, and a gorilla swinging from vines, all of whom help the youngster along the path. When Frankie arrives at the goal, the child realizes that wishing to be a famous dancer would mean skipping out on the journey—and the odyssey through the forest was what made the day fun. As with previous books in the series, each two-page spread features a large illustration, prose that tells the story, and a section where White ballerina Konora (her stage name) leads young readers and dancers through retelling the tale with their bodies. Most of the movements in this story are accessible, with only one challenging pose (a bridge—to mimic the archway entrance to the magical forest), which Konora guides readers through in steps. Advanced dancers can add their own, more challenging spins to the recommended movements, but beginning performers and preschool listeners may choose to stick with the descriptions, using their imaginations to act out Frankie’s adventures. Though geared toward a younger audience, some complex vocabulary words (overwhelmed, frolicked) make this a better choice for classroom reading aloud and perusing by solid independent readers. Rumińska’s digital paintings depicting Frankie are brightly colored, as opposed to the high-contrast, uncredited photographs of Konora, who wears a black leotard and leggings and moves against a white background. Both the prose and the pictures deftly avoid identifying Frankie’s gender. No pronouns are used in the text, and Frankie’s bushy, short red hair; freckles; and shorts and T-shirt give no gender cues, reinforcing that dancing is for everyone.
A strong quest tale encouraging imagination, movement, and hard work.Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2022
ISBN: 9781955555548
Page Count: 43
Publisher: Once Upon A Dance
Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers.
The bestselling series (How to Catch an Elf, 2016, etc.) about capturing mythical creatures continues with a story about various ways to catch the Easter Bunny as it makes its annual deliveries.
The bunny narrates its own story in rhyming text, beginning with an introduction at its office in a manufacturing facility that creates Easter eggs and candy. The rabbit then abruptly takes off on its delivery route with a tiny basket of eggs strapped to its back, immediately encountering a trap with carrots and a box propped up with a stick. The narrative focuses on how the Easter Bunny avoids increasingly complex traps set up to catch him with no explanation as to who has set the traps or why. These traps include an underground tunnel, a fluorescent dance floor with a hidden pit of carrots, a robot bunny, pirates on an island, and a cannon that shoots candy fish, as well as some sort of locked, hazardous site with radiation danger. Readers of previous books in the series will understand the premise, but others will be confused by the rabbit’s frenetic escapades. Cartoon-style illustrations have a 1960s vibe, with a slightly scary, bow-tied bunny with chartreuse eyes and a glowing palette of neon shades that shout for attention.
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3817-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
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BOOK REVIEW
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