An engaging tale about community response that highlights the necessity of global health care.
The child of an Indian vegetable seller rallies community support when his mother gets sick in this picture book.
Dee introduces readers to big-eyed Balu, who, at age 5, is too young for school and instead visits the market with his mother, Amma, to sell cabbages, eggplants, and beans at her stall. Balu soaks in the smells of turmeric and cumin from other booths. Amma uses the money from her business to buy groceries for dinner. When one day she is too sick to get out of bed, Balu fetches a doctor, who sends the boy to the pharmacy to get a prescription. With no money, Balu pays the pharmacist and physician in vegetables. Then the child goes to the market to sell vegetables alone. Sympathetic vendors gather presents from their stalls so Balu can bring dinner home to his mother—who luckily feels better. In the wake of Covid-19 and its impact on India, this story of health care for working poor people has grim undertones. The cost of the medicine for Amma might have been a steeper barrier if her condition had been worse. But this enjoyable, upbeat tale instead depicts an independent boy whose hard work and concern for his family are rewarded by an understanding community. Kim’s soft watercolors in warm tones render the vivid shades of market vegetables bright and shiny; large, cartoonish heads on the characters lend themselves to vibrant emotional expressions.
An engaging tale about community response that highlights the necessity of global health care.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1087912929
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Boomi LLC
Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A bit predictable but pleasantly illustrated.
Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault’s classic alphabet book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989) gets the Halloween treatment.
Chung follows the original formula to the letter. In alphabetical order, each letter climbs to the top of a tree. They are knocked back to the ground in a jumble before climbing up in sequence again. In homage to the spooky holiday theme, they scale a “creaky old tree,” and a ghostly jump scare causes the pileup. The chunky, colorful art is instantly recognizable. The charmingly costumed letters (“H swings a tail. / I wears a patch. J and K don / bows that don’t match”) are set against a dark backdrop, framed by pages with orange or purple borders. The spreads feature spiderwebs and jack-o’-lanterns. The familiar rhyme cadence is marred by the occasional clunky or awkward phrase; in particular, the adapted refrain of “Chicka chicka tricka treat” offers tongue-twisting fun, but it’s repeatedly followed by the disappointing half-rhyme “Everybody sneaka sneak.” Even this odd construction feels shoehorned into place, since “sneaking” makes little sense when every character in the book is climbing together. The final line of the book ends on a more satisfying note, with “Everybody—time to eat!”
A bit predictable but pleasantly illustrated. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: July 15, 2025
ISBN: 9781665954785
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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