Yet another vapid celebrity picture book
Williams’ song, familiar to many children from the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack, is set to consonantly upbeat images.
As photographed by Pratt and digitally collaged by Smith, a bevy of smiling, multiethnic tots cavort to the lyrics, wielding a variety of props made from tinfoil and cardboard for a pleasingly preschool-classroom feel. Their enthusiasm and all-around cuteness are the book’s high point. As often happens when pop songs are stripped of instrumentation and vocals and set in type, the lyrics are banal, frequently nonsensical: “With the air like I DON’T CARE, / baby, by the way.” Pratt and Smith valiantly pose three children in a kite-flying scene to accompany this text, but that doesn’t help give the words any real meaning. Presumably in an attempt to lend the text a visual energy that it has lost in the translation into print, it cavorts across the page with many words and phrases set in uppercase. This may confuse those reading along with the song, as the implied textual emphases don’t always sync with it. The setting of the text is particularly unfortunate in the final double-page spread: “HAPPY! Bring me down, can’t nothing / HAPPY! Bring me down.” The two iterations of “HAPPY!” are voiced by backup singers in the song, but laid out on the page with Williams’ vocals, they are mystifying. An author’s note exhorts readers to become “Happy Helpers.”
Yet another vapid celebrity picture book . (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-399-17643-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2015
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance.
A boy with wings learns to be himself and inspires others like him to soar, too.
Norman, a “perfectly normal” boy, never dreamed he might grow wings. Afraid of what his parents might say, he hides his new wings under a big, stuffy coat. Although the coat hides his wings from the world, Norman no longer finds joy in bathtime, playing at the park, swimming, or birthday parties. With the gentle encouragement of his parents, who see his sadness, Norman finds the courage to come out of hiding and soar. Percival (The Magic Looking Glass, 2017, etc.) depicts Norman with light skin and dark hair. Black-and-white illustrations show his father with dark skin and hair and his mother as white. The contrast of black-and-white illustrations with splashes of bright color complements the story’s theme. While Norman tries to be “normal,” the world and people around him look black and gray, but his coat stands out in yellow. Birds pop from the page in pink, green, and blue, emphasizing the joy and beauty of flying free. The final spread, full of bright color and multiracial children in flight, sets the mood for Norman’s realization on the last page that there is “no such thing as perfectly normal,” but he can be “perfectly Norman.”
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-785-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
Still, this young boy’s imagination is a powerful force for helping him deal with life, something that should be true for...
Oliver, of first-day-of-school alligator fame, is back, imagining adventures and still struggling to find balance between introversion and extroversion.
“When Oliver found his egg…” on the playground, mint-green backgrounds signifying Oliver’s flight into fancy slowly grow larger until they take up entire spreads; Oliver’s creature, white and dinosaurlike with orange polka dots, grows larger with them. Their adventures include sharing treats, sailing the seas and going into outer space. A classmate’s yell brings him back to reality, where readers see him sitting on top of a rock. Even considering Schmid’s scribbly style, readers can almost see the wheels turning in his head as he ponders the girl and whether or not to give up his solitary play. “But when Oliver found his rock… // Oliver imagined many adventures // with all his friends!” This last is on a double gatefold that opens to show the children enjoying the creature’s slippery curves. A final wordless spread depicts all the children sitting on rocks, expressions gleeful, wondering, waiting, hopeful. The illustrations, done in pastel pencil and digital color, again make masterful use of white space and page turns, although this tale is not nearly as funny or tongue-in-cheek as Oliver and His Alligator (2013), nor is its message as clear and immediately accessible to children.
Still, this young boy’s imagination is a powerful force for helping him deal with life, something that should be true for all children but sadly isn’t. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: July 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-7573-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
