Patricia has an older brother who looks "like a weasel with glasses," but that's just for starters. The real problem with him — besides his red wiry hair and his freckles — is that he's always telling her he can do everything better than she can. He can pick more blackberries, he can eat more rhubarb without puckering; he can run faster, climb higher, burp louder, and spit farther. Worst of all, he's four years older, "always has been and always will be." When Patricia's babushka — her grandmother — teaches her how to wish on a falling star, Patricia wishes to do something better than he does. She gets her wish and winds up seeing a different side of her brother as well. Polacco's (Babushka Baba Yaga, 1993, etc.; Pink and Say, see below) text is smooth, effortless, and completely natural-sounding. Her drawings are funny and vivacious — as usual, her characters are drawn with wonderful facial expressions and limbs akimbo. She has the ability to transport you to her settings — in this case, to a Michigan farm where you can practically feel the sun and smell the pies baking. Polacco has proved time and again that she is masterful both as illustrator and storyteller, and this book is no exception. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-671-72751-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1994
#Ownvoices tributes to childhood memories of home: It is as much an emotional space as a physical place.
A picture book centering a young emigrant’s journey as well as her homecoming.
Unlike conventional or traditional narratives that launch immigrant characters on one-way passages and their accompanying plots along linear trajectories, this focused family story illustrates modern migration by choice as an evolving tale of round trips through conscious reconnections with one’s origins. The young protagonist moves from Taiwan to San Diego and learns English at school while staying connected with Popo, the grandmother who stayed in Taiwan, via video chats. As time passes, linguistic barriers blur along with ongoing transitions between cultures and geographies: A once-fluent vernacular recedes to accommodate new sounds and expressions until the child even dreams of Popo speaking English. Sympathetic, gentle treatments of aging and illness convey life’s inevitabilities with a loving imagination steeped in the scent of sweet osmanthus. Faithful representations of Chinese-language signage, street scenes, and cityscapes evoke nostalgia for those familiar with Taiwan and its vibrant food culture. Whimsical depictions of Chinese New Year at home and Popo’s kitchen are authentic, down to the accurate details on a calendar, dumpling making from scratch, and the iconic rice cooker. Readers will connect with this visual story on various levels or learn something new; possibly both. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
#Ownvoices tributes to childhood memories of home: It is as much an emotional space as a physical place. (author’s note, illustrator’s note, glossary) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-24931-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A warm embrace of a book.
“My family loves me, and I love them. But we don’t use words to say ‘I love you.’ ”
As a child narrates, readers see a smiling mother, father, grandmother, and grandfather bustle about a cheery, colorful home doing chores. The narrator explains how each family member expresses their love with actions: Mom “stirs her love into a pot of steaming xī fàn” (Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese Hokkien words are sprinkled throughout and defined in a glossary), Ah Gong walks the child to school in the morning, Ah Ma packs a lunch of noodles, and Dad cheers and encourages from the sidelines of a soccer game. The child also shows love, saying, “I do my best at school so they can feel proud.” Some readers may wonder: Is Chen implying that the family’s reticence when it comes to verbally expressing their love is rooted in their being Chinese? Or is this a Chinese family that happens to be less verbally demonstrative? That’s left up to readers to decide; regardless, it’s abundantly clear from the detailed spreads and expressiveness of the characters that they are full of love for one another, with or without words. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A warm embrace of a book. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Dec. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-42839-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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