A good choice for budding philosophers.
A first step into the world of ontology, picture-book style!
Two holes, Hamish and Hermione, try to find a new home when their Swiss cheese is eaten by mice. With nowhere now to live and wishing to be “useful,” they leave the “dreary kitchen” of the royal palace to search for other meaningful locales. The king does not appreciate Hamish’s new location on his sock. Hermione chooses the queen’s knickers, and she is equally distressed. Remember, they are holes. Their choices spiral into a comedy of errors as bike tires deflate, boats sink, and balloons burst. “Everyone thinks we are a nuisance,” says a frustrated yet confident Hamish. “But holes can be useful too.” Ingman’s hand-painted blotches of color show a surprising array of emotions with just two eyes and a mouth each, an occasional blushing cheek, and stick arms and legs. These two characters (portrayed as corporeal even though holes are defined as “nothing”) change color to match their surroundings, like chameleons. They are most frequently portrayed running away, Gingerbread Man–style, from surprised royalty and castle staff, all white. Will they ever find a place to call home? What objects need holes? Bright’s text deftly captures the quest for and fulfillment of true usefulness while allowing for more complex subtleties to percolate.
A good choice for budding philosophers. (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: April 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5124-3950-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Andersen Press USA
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extraordinary expression of Filipino culture and intergenerational familial bonds.
A child describes the smells, tastes, and feelings of their summer.
“How do I know summer is here?” For the child sharing their story, summer is the smell of stone fruit ripening and days with nothing to do. Summer really begins when their lola comes to visit and makes her special mango jam. Together, grandmother and grandchild play at the pool, go to the beach, and watch fireworks. Lola fills their days with the delicious smells and tastes of traditional Filipino food, like cassava cake and sisig. Summer blooms with happy memories of gathering fruit, fishing, cooking, and eating together. When Lola returns home, summer turns to chilly breezes and falling leaves, but Lola has one more surprise. This is a beautiful, tender expression of family and love that spans generations and great distances. Each moment is described as a smell or taste, which engages all of readers’ senses. The illustrations add so much life and context to the words, especially for the Filipino dishes. The bright colors and visible brush strokes add warmth and capture the feelings of summer. The family is Filipino, and all have brown skin, black hair, and black eyes. Lola speaks Tagalog and Ilocano.
An extraordinary expression of Filipino culture and intergenerational familial bonds. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-297285-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
An imaginative and engaging look into artistic possibility.
Opposing art implements must learn to coexist in the same space and create together as one adds while the other subtracts.
Change is hard, especially for Pencil. The solitary graphite artist who “loved to draw” finds his worldview challenged when Eraser comes into the picture and uses negative space to complicate the drawings. Believing art can happen only when you add to the image, Pencil has a hard time playing well with others and accepting the notion that, sometimes, less is more. In contrast, ever gleeful Eraser sees potential and beauty in removing. When Pencil challenges Eraser to create art from his chaotic lines, Eraser deftly gives Pencil something he cannot resist: a maze. Eraser’s creativity opens Pencil to the possibility that, perhaps, there might be more to art than making lines on a paper. The two become fast friends as the potential for their creativity doubles when combining forces. Debut illustrator Blanco creates endearing endpapers that serve as mirrors to the story. Although this is a creative concept, it comes after Max Amato’s Perfect (2019), which covers similar conceptual territory. However, through Kilpatrick and Ramos’ text, Pencil and Eraser entangle in a deeper dialogue than Amato’s implements do, and further potential for disaster—or so Pencil would think—is humorously foreshadowed by more art utensils coming into the picture.
An imaginative and engaging look into artistic possibility. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 28, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-30939-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Imprint
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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