Through intricate paintings and a cohesive text, this Christian tale becomes fully fleshed out.
A thief finds mercy from Jesus during the crucifixion in this retelling of a Gospel story.
In Arroyo’s picture book, Dismas, an abandoned child, is raised to be a thief. Despite his kind heart, he is instructed by his master that “mercy is a great weakness.” As Dismas grows to adulthood, he becomes a feared bandit, quick to kill. One night, Dismas encounters a group of travelers: a couple with a child, whom the thief recognizes as divine. Dismas spares the family, asking the child to remember him and show him mercy one day. Years pass, and Dismas continues his wicked ways until he is finally caught. As he hangs on a cross next to an innocent preacher, Dismas recognizes the man as the divine child he met long ago. Because of his faith, the thief is forgiven and welcomed into heaven. The tale’s violent content, from Dismas’ master’s killing a kitten to the bandit’s committing his own murders, is handled discreetly in the author’s straightforward text and delicately in Gallegos’ beautiful paintings. But this material makes the work better suited for older independent readers and upper level Sunday school classes. The detailed illustrations nod to European Renaissance art depictions of Bible stories, featuring White, dark-haired characters throughout. Arroyo offers an insightful endnote about the various traditional versions of Dismas’ journey, beginning with the Gospel of Luke but including the writings of St. Augustine and others.
Through intricate paintings and a cohesive text, this Christian tale becomes fully fleshed out.Pub Date: March 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64413-238-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sophia Institute Press
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A scrumptious treat to be savored and enjoyed, just like a fine holiday dinner.
On Christmas Eve, a large apartment house on 133rd Street in the Bronx becomes the site of a multicultural neighborhood party.
Manzano, a Pura Belpré honoree and Maria on Sesame Street, teams up with Caldecott honoree Priceman for this vibrant story. The setting is the apartment of a Puerto Rican family preparing their special Christmas Eve dinner. Mami is trying to cook a huge roast, but it won’t fit in her small oven. Papi and José decide to take the roast to their friend who owns a pizzeria to see if he can help. On their way, they meet several neighbors and friends of different ages and ethnic groups; all are stressed, lonely, or worried about money. When the father and son return with the cooked roast, its delicious aroma transforms everyone who smells it, wafting them along on swirls of contented delight. They all float up the stairs to the apartment for a Christmas Eve dinner, fitting everyone into just one small apartment—a Christmas miracle. The polished text uses dramatic pacing, dialogue, emotion, and characterization to excellent effect. Priceman’s dazzling illustrations are filled with pulsating energy, glowing colors, and the radiant smiles of the neighbors who find community together. A magical, hopeful vitality permeates the art, reflected in multiple swirling elements wound through the illustrations.
A scrumptious treat to be savored and enjoyed, just like a fine holiday dinner. (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-689-87887-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
Although metaphysical rumblings may disturb adults, this wily symbolism-studded fantasy should appeal to children of an imaginative turn. While exploring an old English mansion, the four children—Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy—discover through passing into a wardrobe, the strange land of Narnia, where it is winter without ever becoming Christmas. The children soon are swept up in the terror of the rule of the White Witch, fighting with the other subjects—all animals—and the glorious Lion, Asian, who brings spring and hope with him. In spite of the White Witch's terrific enslavement of Edmund, her horrid power, which changes living things to stone, and the sacrificial death of Aslan, the forces of light win, the children are made kings and queens, and Asian returns to life. The plot thickens to a pretty heavy pudding at the end, but the prose is witty and the novel action is fast-moving. Not recommended for adults!
Pub Date: Nov. 6, 1950
ISBN: 978-0-06-171505-1
Page Count: -
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1950
SEEN & HEARD
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