While it features some odd rhymes and a mishmash of cold-climate animals, this tale delivers a strong message that...
A young penguin helps a drifting iceberg reunite with his family in this debut picture book.
One day, a penguin sees an iceberg floating all alone. Curious about the solitary iceberg, he swims over. At first, the iceberg is silent, but eventually the penguin realizes that he’s tremendously sad. The iceberg explains that he was swept out to sea, away from everyone he cares about. Determined to do something for his new friend, the penguin swims against the current that brought his pal and is surprised to find that the iceberg clan, complete with animal cohorts, is floating toward its missing family member. When they return to where the penguin left the lost one, the iceberg is gone—but after a moment, the bird realizes that his drifting friend has been transformed by the journey and now looks like a diamond, the light glimmering off newly crystalline edges. Mascarelli’s verse scans well, but sometimes the rhymes are a stretch and feel out of context within the setting: “I dive into the water / and swim by his side. / Next to the iceberg / I’m as small as a fly.” Readers who know something about Arctic and Antarctic critters will likely spot that the combination of animals hails from both places. Mascarelli and illustrator Grau offer a note in the front that they know these creatures don’t actually mix, but savvy readers may still question the inclusion. They may also wonder why icebergs have families or why it’s odd to see an isolated one. But young lap readers who haven’t yet encountered that type of science-based questioning should love Grau’s round-edged cartoon animals, especially the penguins with bow ties, and enjoy the iceberg’s beautiful transformation as well as his multishaped clan. The ending page, which shows several families (iceberg, penguin, and walrus) gathering together in happiness, is a heartwarming conclusion to a story light on conflict but full of love.
While it features some odd rhymes and a mishmash of cold-climate animals, this tale delivers a strong message that celebrates the joys of working hard to assist a new friend.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-0-9984125-0-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Aridan Books
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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