by Rino Alaimo ; illustrated by Rino Alaimo ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 12, 2015
In video and on paper, the art casts an evocative glow, but the story is much changed and the transition from one medium to...
In this atmospheric version of the author’s prizewinning short film, a lad woos—and ultimately wins—the Moon.
Strangely, in the film, the story is revealed at the end to be an allegorical take on a more earthly pursuit, but here, Alaimo tells it straight. His heart captured by the Moon, a lonely boy endures “a long and arduous journey upward” (not depicted) to offer her a rose. She rejects that gift, as well as the pearl that he fetches from the sea and the diamond eye he intrepidly cuts from a dragon. Ignoring an old man’s warning that she would transform him forever, he finally ties the Moon in place until she beholds “the beauty of the colors of the day” and so accepts him at last. Except for the climactic daylight spread, the illustrations, drawn from the film, feature a boy, the big crescent Moon, and other shadowy figures lit in pale gold against dark backdrops of equally dim stars. Over and above the bondage bit, not only is the original’s plotline significantly altered and shortened, but two scenes—one showing the lad planning his final ploy and the other of a threatening shadow—are confusingly jammed together.
In video and on paper, the art casts an evocative glow, but the story is much changed and the transition from one medium to the other, awkwardly accomplished. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 12, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-939629-76-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Familius
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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by Rino Alaimo ; illustrated by Rino Alaimo
by Margaret McNamara ; illustrated by Julia Denos ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 23, 2013
Not the subtlest book, but girls who love fairies won’t care.
Fairy Rosy Bell strikes up a forbidden friendship with a human child.
In August, the Summer People—human vacationers—arrive at their vacation cottages on Sheepskerry Island. They bring loud noises, trample fairy gardens and are dangerous; when humans discover fairies, they chase them off and leave them homeless. Rosy intends to follow the rules and avoid the Summer People, but then she overhears an injured little girl’s parents hoping the island’s magic will cheer up their daughter. Overwhelmed by compassion, Rosy sneaks into Lulu’s room to tidy up, accidentally wakes up Lulu and is spotted. The two strike up a hidden friendship, meeting and passing notes in secret. Lulu is a Peter Pan fan who loves hearing about Rosy’s big sister Tinker Bell, and in return, she shares her grandmother’s stories about visiting the island back when fairies played with Summer Children. But Lulu, not content to be a secret, wants to meet the rest of the Fairy Bell sisters. When a big storm rolls in, Rosy must confess her friendship and enlist the other fairies to help her rescue Lulu, who is on the beach and has lost a crutch. In return, Lulu has the Summer Children help rebuild the fairy homes destroyed by the storm. The story’s sweetness is tempered by the friendship’s secrecy.
Not the subtlest book, but girls who love fairies won’t care. (how to make a fairy house, glossary of baby Squeak’s language) (Fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: April 23, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-222805-5
Page Count: 115
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 26, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2013
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More In The Series
by Margaret McNamara ; illustrated by Julia Denos
by Margaret McNamara ; illustrated by Julia Denos
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by Margaret McNamara ; illustrated by G. Brian Karas
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by Margaret McNamara ; illustrated by Micah Player
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by Sophia Spencer & Margaret McNamara ; illustrated by Kerascoët
by Judi Barrett ; illustrated by Isidre Monés ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 27, 2013
An extra helping for those readers who haven’t had their fill of the general premise.
More edible precipitation—falling not on the town of Chewandswallow this time, but Mars, and timed to whet appetites for the second iteration of the film version of the franchise.
Grandpa falls asleep in his chair following news reports of astronauts greeted by a shower of goo on the red planet and dreams of being there himself, helping the green-skinned residents cope with barrages of falling pies. They’re all the fruit-filled sort in Monés’ illustrations, which are closely modeled on Ron Barrett’s work in the previous two Cloudy episodes and sandwich color views of Martian cities and citizens between earthly scenes in crosshatched black and white. The story goes on a little too long and ends in a muddle—the goo turns out to be ordinary Martian rain, but the pie Grandpa serves to his grandchildren in the final scene comes from an interplanetary shipping carton that is somehow translated into reality from his dream solution of exporting fallen pies to Earth. Nevertheless, the showers of crust and fruit filling look delectable, and the illustrator tucks in plenty of amusing side business and sight gags.
An extra helping for those readers who haven’t had their fill of the general premise. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4424-9027-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
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by Judi Barrett ; illustrated by Ron Barrett
BOOK REVIEW
by Judi Barrett ; illustrated by Ron Barrett
BOOK REVIEW
by Judi Barrett ; illustrated by Ron Barrett
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