A fun, simple tale with a memorable theme.
When a little girl pays an act of kindness forward, love multiplies and an entire town dances for joy in Nichvolodoff’s (Cleo’s Treasure Hunt, 2016, etc.) children’s book, with illustrations by Paradero.
Young fans of spontaneous dancing will enjoy reading this wiggle-inducing story of a twirling girl named Sophia. One day, she sees a red, knit cap caught in the branches of a tree, so she uses a long stick to knock it down. Unable to locate the cap’s owner, Sophia wears it proudly until a strong wind blows it away. She’s sad to have lost her newfound treasure, so the inventive girl asks Grandmother to help her learn how to knit another one. Grandmother complies, and Sophia is thrilled to get another beautiful red hat. She wants to spread the joy, so she makes a second cap for her grandmother. When Sophia’s mother sees them both wearing their new headgear, she requests—and receives—one of her own. Pretty soon, Sophia, Grandmother, and Mother knit more caps to share with neighbors, and they, in turn, make them for other townspeople. As the process goes on, more people—and even some dogs and cats—dance, twirl, and play musical instruments in Sophia’s ever-increasing red hat parade. Paradero’s brightly colored illustrations complement this pleasant tale. The images feature old-fashioned characters wearing 19th-century-style clothing (such as long dresses and high collars), but there’s minimal diversity of skin tone. Although the narrative isn’t exceptionally imaginative, it flows easily and offers effective repetition: “Everyone was so thrilled with their new red hats they twirled right and twirled left. They twirled down the road into town and twirled with their drums and their horns and their tambourines.” The moralistic story ends with a declaration that “kindness begets kindness.” Additionally, it poses a thought-provoking math question: “How many hats were knit for people?” It’s a bit tricky to figure out the exact number who received hats, so adults will probably need to offer guidance to help kids answer the question. Some parents may cringe at the idea of a child putting a stranger’s unwashed cap on his or her head, but many others will like the book’s emphasis on thoughtfulness.
A fun, simple tale with a memorable theme.Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4907-6560-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Trafford
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
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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