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THE ORIGIN OF DAY AND NIGHT

Name: THE ORIGIN OF DAY AND NIGHT
Author: Paula Ikuutaq Rumbolt
ISBN: 978-1-77227-180-5

by Paula Ikuutaq Rumbolt ; illustrated by Lenny Lishchenko ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 30, 2018

Spare and beautiful

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“At the very beginning of time,” spoken words had the power to become true—as protagonists Tiri the Arctic fox and Ukaliq the Arctic hare soon realize in this traditional Inuit tale.

In this “time of magic words” all the Earth is in a state of darkness. It is great for the nocturnal animals like Tiri, who can easily see and hunt in the dark. He makes sure the darkness prevails by calling its name: “Taaq, taaq, taaq!” Ukaliq overhears Tiri and thinks it unfair to have only darkness. How can she find food? She calls out the word for day, “Ubluq, ubluq, ubluq!” and so light comes into the world in a spectacular double-page spread in which the verso is dominated by the huge arc of the yellow, rising sun. The two disagree and argue and finally decide on a compromise that will “give each other enough time to find a meal or two before the other changes the light in the sky.” Rumbolt grew up listening to traditional Inuit stories and customs shared by her family and other elders. Her cadenced retelling of this traditional origin story will help young readers learn how to compromise and problem solve. Lishchenko’s deliberate palette of black and white, plus touches of a few other colors, plays strikingly with negative and positive space and adds a subtle dimension to this story of opponents learning how to coexist.

Spare and beautiful . (Picture book/religion. 3-7)

Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-77227-180-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Inhabit Media

Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THE LEGEND OF LIGHTNING AND THUNDER
by Paula Ikuutaq Rumbolt ; illustrated by Jo Rioux

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MY FIRST CODING BOOK

by Kiki Prottsman ; illustrated by Molly Lattin ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 4, 2017

Clear, age-appropriate, and durable—the best way to get a young coder started—without screen time.

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Coding principles are gamified with tabs and flaps.

Topic by topic in double-page spreads, this book tackles the fundamental concepts and logic of computer programing, with playful interactions that vary appropriately. The game for “decomposing,” an essential skill, has durable flaps with answers for questions posed about what steps are needed for a task. The “algorithm” spread explains the way computers interpret commands with comical illustrations of what happens when there are missing steps or insufficient detail. A cupcake-making machine with flaps that reveal whether a part in the illustration is functioning or buggy explains “debugging,” and so on. Each interaction suits its given topic remarkably well. An IF- and ELSE-statement explains conditionals with a treasure-hunt flap game that has surprising replayability. In the variables game, the book’s most complicated, readers time themselves counting up objects worth different point values via a spinning wheel and lift a tab to see if they were correct. Throughout, “Code Word” sidebars and other explanations are provided by pixelated humans of all genders and skin tones, and the game art is a bubbly cartoon style.

Clear, age-appropriate, and durable—the best way to get a young coder started—without screen time. (glossary, index) (Informational novelty. 3-7)

Pub Date: July 4, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-4654-5973-2

Page Count: 24

Publisher: DK Publishing

Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
CODING WITH ANNA AND ELSA
by Kiki Prottsman ; illustrated by Disney Storybook Artists

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THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA

From the Once Upon a World series

by Chloe Perkins ; illustrated by Dinara Mirtalipova ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 2017

A nice addition to the series.

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A retelling of the well-known Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale with a Russian setting.

The Once Upon a World series travels the globe setting familiar Western fairy tales in different locales. This latest addition to the series is set in Russia and tells the story of the “lonely young prince who wanted to fall in love” and of his parents’ insistence that the bride-to-be be a princess. After traveling far and wide and meeting many princesses who are not right for him, the prince returns home, disappointed. One rainy evening, a wet and cold, dark-haired princess appears at the castle door. Refreshingly, the prince and princess fall in love not because they are a prince and princess but because they have talked and found they have much in common: they have traveled widely, explored the same places, and had adventures. Mirtalipova’s illustrations have a pleasing folksy feel, many pages decorated with pretty flowery borders. One double-page spread of the princess being taken care of by a host of servants is particularly appealing. (With the exception of one brown-skinned princess, all the characters are white.) Though the text has been simplified and the presentation is in board-book format, the intended audience is not the toddler set. And the prince and princess? As with the traditional telling, the princess passes the pea test and they live happily ever after.

A nice addition to the series. (Board book. 3-5)