The tender relationship between a grandmother and a grandchild extends beyond distance and language.
When young Jyoti visits family in India, everything feels so different than in America. Although Jyoti and Sita Pati don’t speak more than a few words in each other’s language, Sita Pati reaches out, and the two bond. When Jyoti is sad to leave India, Sita Pati offers some comfort: the Tamil phrase poitu varen—I'll go and come back—used in place of the word goodbye. Later, when Sita Pati visits, Jyoti introduces her to life in America as once again they play, read, and cook together. The simple yet heartfelt text makes excellent connections between the fun they have in India and in America—in India, they prepare and eat chapatis, while in America they cook quesadillas; in India, they create Rangoli designs, while in America, they play hopscotch. Illustrations, done in gouache and acrylic and assembled digitally, exude tenderness as they depict Jyoti, Sita Pati, and their family in warm brown skin tones with dark hair. And their sweet promise of poitu varen can help any young child with family far away. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A loving depiction of familial connection between generations. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0717-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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Bear finds a wonderful toy.
Bear clearly loves the toy bunny that he has found sitting up against a tree in the forest, but he wants to help it return to its home. With a wagon full of fliers and the bunny secure in Bear’s backpack, he festoons the trees with posters and checks out a bulletin board filled with lost and found objects (some of which will bring a chuckle to adult readers). Alas, he returns home still worried about bunny. The following day, they happily play together and ride Bear’s tricycle. Into the cozy little picture steps Moose, who immediately recognizes his bunny, named Floppy. Bear has a tear in his eye as he watches Moose and Floppy hug. But Moose, wearing a tie, is clearly grown and knows that it is time to share and that Bear will take very good care of his Floppy. Yoon’s story is sweet without being sentimental. She uses digitized artwork in saturated colors to create a lovely little world for her animals. They are outlined in strong black lines and stand out against the yellows, blues, greens and oranges of the background. She also uses space to great effect, allowing readers to feel the emotional tug of the story.
A winning tale about finding new friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8027-3559-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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