Vail (Daring to be Abigail, 1996, etc.) reimagines a nursery rhyme as a Broadway production headed for disaster; running concurrent with the lines of the rhyme is the exasperated exchanges between noted director, Hiram “Hi” Diddle Diddle, and his uncooperative cow. “Over the moon! You get it? Or the whole nursery rhyme is ruined.” But the cow keeps goofing up. She leaps under, next to, and finally right through the glowing orb (which is only a paper moon in this production). Finally the bovine star gets it right, but after successfully flying over the moon she crash lands on her worried director, which sets the little dog giggling. When the dish and the spoon cut out for a bite to eat, the rest of the crew (including the cool blue fiddling cat) decide to take a break, too. Although young readers might not get all the theatrical posturing and angst, Nash’s funny illustrations, with the hand-lettered dialogue appearing in conversation balloons, will elicit plenty of smiles, making Vail’s first picture book a giddy success. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-531-30068-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1998
Vital messages of self-love for darker-skinned children.
On hot summer nights, Amani’s parents permit her to go outside and play in the apartment courtyard, where the breeze is cool and her friends are waiting.
The children jump rope to the sounds of music as it floats through a neighbor’s window, gaze at stars in the night sky, and play hide-and-seek in the moonlight. It is in the moonlight that Amani and her friends are themselves found by the moon, and it illumines the many shades of their skin, which vary from light tan to deep brown. In a world where darkness often evokes ideas of evil or fear, this book is a celebration of things that are dark and beautiful—like a child’s dark skin and the night in which she plays. The lines “Show everyone else how to embrace the night like you. Teach them how to be a night-owning girl like you” are as much an appeal for her to love and appreciate her dark skin as they are the exhortation for Amani to enjoy the night. There is a sense of security that flows throughout this book. The courtyard is safe and homelike. The moon, like an additional parent, seems to be watching the children from the sky. The charming full-bleed illustrations, done in washes of mostly deep blues and greens, make this a wonderful bedtime story.
Vital messages of self-love for darker-skinned children. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: July 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-55271-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
For Berkner’s fans; there are much better books about children visiting imaginative lands.
Berkner’s children’s song gets the picture-book treatment with illustrations from Garoche.
What kid hasn’t made a massive pillow fort and imagined all sorts of adventures? Well, Berkner’s premise is that there is a land where everything is made of pillows, and three lucky children get to visit there. (They appear to be siblings, perhaps a blended family: Mom and one girl are black; Dad, one boy, and one girl are white.) The illustrations transition between depictions of obvious imaginative play in a bedroom to a fantasy world and back again at the end, when the parents peek in at the three asleep. Garoche’s art consists of photos of papercut artwork arranged in dioramas with some Photoshop details. Reminiscent of Michael Garland’s work (though more pastel in color) or that of Elly McKay (though less ethereal), the illustrations are a mixed bag, with layers and hard edges juxtaposed against all the pillows. The king and queen of the song are obviously stand-ins for the parents. Children who know the tune may not sit still for a reading, while those who don’t may wonder at the repeated refrain.
For Berkner’s fans; there are much better books about children visiting imaginative lands. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-6467-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
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