An often engaging but uneven Bible-centered tale of a special animal.
In Schorr’s illustrated children’s book, a camel without a hump realizes that his differences make him special.
The word gamal, the narrator notes in the opening pages of this rhyming picture book, is how some people “in the East” say camel. Amal is different from other camels, because “his hump was so small, / with practically no room for water at all.” The poor creature always feels thirsty, and he’s mocked by other camels. When Amal’s first journey comes, it’s an important one: The caravan captain announces that they’ll be traveling with wise men to visit a new king. Amal is worried he won’t make it across the desert, so he prays that the caravan will find plenty of water along the way. The faithful animal is soon rewarded with an oasis—and with knowledge when one of the wise men explains that camels’ humps aren’t reservoirs full of water, despite popular belief. Amal’s flat back makes him perfect for carrying the wise men’s gift of myrrh, as it won’t spill off him; after the caravan reaches their destination, his flat back is ideal for carrying Mary and the baby to Egypt. Schorr’s rhythmic rhymes are reminiscent of Dr. Seuss’ more complex tales; the stanzas shift in rhythm, with plenty of internal rhyme, and alternating schemes are likely to keep readers on their toes. Although the science lesson about camels’ humps does explain that the humps are made of muscle and fat (not water), that explanation does undermine how the fat provides the energy that camels need to travel long distances without additional sustenance. However, the triumphant celebration of Amal’s differences is a pleasantly familiar, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer–like Christmas lesson. Koontz’s painterly full-color illustrations mix realistic images with cartoonish expressions. Amal’s small hump usually has a tuft of blue hair, but in some illustrations, it’s missing; also, Koontz’s choice to represent Mary’s husband, Joseph, as an elderly man may strike some readers as odd.
An often engaging but uneven Bible-centered tale of a special animal.Pub Date: July 6, 2021
ISBN: 9781645438694
Page Count: 38
Publisher: Mascot Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
As ephemeral as a valentine.
Daywalt and Jeffers’ wandering crayons explore love.
Each double-page spread offers readers a vision of one of the anthropomorphic crayons on the left along with the statement “Love is [color].” The word love is represented by a small heart in the appropriate color. Opposite, childlike crayon drawings explain how that color represents love. So, readers learn, “love is green. / Because love is helpful.” The accompanying crayon drawing depicts two alligators, one holding a recycling bin and the other tossing a plastic cup into it, offering readers two ways of understanding green. Some statements are thought-provoking: “Love is white. / Because sometimes love is hard to see,” reaches beyond the immediate image of a cat’s yellow eyes, pink nose, and black mouth and whiskers, its white face and body indistinguishable from the paper it’s drawn on, to prompt real questions. “Love is brown. / Because sometimes love stinks,” on the other hand, depicted by a brown bear standing next to a brown, squiggly turd, may provoke giggles but is fundamentally a cheap laugh. Some of the color assignments have a distinctly arbitrary feel: Why is purple associated with the imagination and pink with silliness? Fans of The Day the Crayons Quit (2013) hoping for more clever, metaliterary fun will be disappointed by this rather syrupy read.
As ephemeral as a valentine. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Dec. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-9268-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
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SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
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