A young kestrel tries its wings in this roller-coaster ride of a picture book, swooping over (and under!) Brooklyn’s urban canyons in an exciting, eventful first flight. Blake (Akiak: A Tale From The Iditarod, 1997, etc.) furnishes a minimal text for his controlled, crisply detailed artwork, telling the tale mostly in vertiginous, bird’s-eye scenes of brownstone roofs and distant streets. “I set my feet again. I shake my wings. I push off into the air. I can do it. I can fly.” Between the bird’s first awkward tumble into the air and its confident, triumphant landing, a larger hawk’s attack sends it fleeing through the struts of an actual roller coaster, then plunging into a subway station and onto a train crowded with startled commuters. Soaring over skyscrapers after an impromptu ride into Manhattan, the feathered sojourner is guided back to the nest at last by its family’s cries. The trip is an amazing one that will have readers poring over the pages in awed silence. Young children facing or recalling their own first forays into the wide world will follow this one with fascination. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-399-23321-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2000
A child struggles to assimilate the idea that Mom’s going to have a baby in this low-key children’s debut. After being gently corrected each time she tells a friend that her mother’s going to have a baby mouse, puppy, monkey, or dolphin, Sophie eventually discovers that her new little brother is better than any of these—though he does indeed drool like a puppy, spit like a dolphin, wave his arms like a monkey, and squeak when he’s hungry. Alley takes to heart the almost imperceptible hint that Sophie isn’t just joking; in his soft textured watercolors (some of which are decorated with scribbly drawings by his son), her face reflects quiet but genuine upset. The passage of time is subtly suggested too, as Sophie goes from restaurant to nursery school, from backyard pool to autumn playground while seasons change around her. A comforting, good-humored alternative to the likes of Martha Alexander’s angry When the New Baby Comes, I’m Moving Out (1979). (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: June 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-8037-2662-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2003
O’Malley sends all the right signals as he also sends the ladybug star of Little Buggy (2002) stomping off in a huff after an argument with Big Buggy. Little Buggy never says a word, but not only does his expressive face capture his mix of anger and anxiety, he’s squired by two talkative ants who articulate the ins and outs of running away, from, “We saw Big Buggy. He says he misses you,” to “Are you really going to stay out here all by yourself?” Even very young children will get the message, as night falls over O’Malley’s ground-level garden scenes, and the point of view recedes in a wordless spread to show Little Buggy wide-eyed and alone. But look, here comes Big Buggy to say, “How was your day? Mine was terrible. I had a fight with someone I love.” Quarrel forgotten, the two are last seen heading home together. Despite, or perhaps because of, its indirect approach, the episode will give children considering similar flights a good chance for second thoughts. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-15-216550-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Gulliver/Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2003
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