A beautiful, comforting tale for nature lovers.
A giant oak leaves its mark on a forest and the humans who love the tree in this debut illustrated children’s book about loss and legacy.
A White mother and daughter make regular trips down an old dirt road and into a forest to see a striking, old oak tree. The Great Oak commands the center of the forest, a home for many woodland creatures. When the girl asks how the tree got so big, her mother explains that once there were two oaks but then a storm toppled one of them. “Over time, the remaining oak grew bigger and stronger, as if to fill the hole left by the fallen tree.” The girl asks about the acorns, and as the years pass, the pair watch the saplings from those small seeds become large trees. But despite growing herself, the girl does not notice the toll that the years have taken on the Great Oak. One winter, when she and her mother return to their favorite place, the old oak has fallen. Although the girl’s sadness is understandable, her mother reminds her how the young trees were all shaped by the Great Oak’s presence, which will remain powerful. Accardo’s story works well as a literal tale of an ancient tree’s demise. But the author’s endnotes deliver the analogy of how some people—whose impacts feel as strong as the Great Oak’s—will be remembered after they are gone because of how they shaped the lives of the individuals around them. The senses of grief and hope that infuse the pages are heightened by that analogy even as the illustrations show how, in death, the tree still helps the forest by becoming a home for a family of raccoons. Accardo’s complex sentences and dense text make this a good choice for independent readers who are building their stamina, with Waterstradt’s gorgeous images offering plenty of details to pore over. The realistic watercolors capture the mother and daughter’s deep love of nature and the reassurance that life continues after a close relative’s—or beloved tree’s—death.
A beautiful, comforting tale for nature lovers.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 9781736698105
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Painted Thistle Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
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