An energetic, encouraging tale that highlights the power of the imagination in challenging circumstances.
A child with a medical condition uses his creativity to embark on adventures in this picture book.
Jakob lives in a “bubble” to protect his health. But it doesn’t stop the boy from enjoying imagined escapades with an oversized version of his “best buddy Buvo,” a red stuffed toy. For instance, they visit a place called “puddle land on a rainbow unicorn,” and when Jakob’s grandparents call, he imagines the phone “is a super-powerful teleporter and magnifying glass.” Throughout the tale, Mom reminds Jakob to wash his hands to avoid germs. When Jakob feels sick and scared, Dad reminds him that he’s “a fighter.” Buvo frets when Jakob leaves to visit a doctor. But Jakob explains that “Dr. Mustache will fix me” and returns home feeling better and ready to play. Tucked in bed, Jakob plans his next mission. He tells his parents: “I am going to camp on the moon....I’ll dream about the park, new friends, and castles made of mud.” Inspired by the real-life Jakob Kamil Guziak, who was born “with no immune system to fight infections or colds,” Fernández de Soto AbdulRahin’s story offers a heartening portrayal of a child’s perseverance. Youngsters with their own health limitations will particularly relish Jakob’s amusing, inventive explorations. Mañozca’s lively, hand-drawn illustrations depict fanciful, sometimes quirky scenes of Jakob’s exploits, as when the White hero battles a scary, cheese-filled shark surrounded by emotive broccoli florets at lunchtime.
An energetic, encouraging tale that highlights the power of the imagination in challenging circumstances.Pub Date: June 3, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-03-912403-5
Page Count: 21
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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