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LITTLE MAMÁ FORGETS

A Mexican-American grandmother may be getting a bit forgetful, but she still remembers what’s really important. In the mornings, Lucy’s grandmother, “Little Mama,” sometimes calls her “little Luciana” and forgets the bread is toasting, but she remembers to tickle Lucy and pour lots of cream on her rice pudding. Little Mama may forget how to tie her shoes, but she remembers how to button her satin dancing slippers when she twirls with Lucy. On the way to the park, Little Mama often forgets directions, but she remembers perfectly how to skip, laugh and sing. Everyday Little Mama forgets “names and places and people and words,” but she never forgets to tuck Lucy in at night “with a song and a kiss.” Brimming with patterns and colors reminiscent of Mexican folk art, the brilliant illustrations accentuate Little Mama’s zest for living, while celebrating Mexican-American family life. Lucy’s tender and loving kinship with “Little Mama” gently extols the importance of memory and intergenerational relationships. Warm and wise. (glossary of Spanish words and phrases) (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: April 5, 2006

ISBN: 0-374-34613-5

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Melanie Kroupa/Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2006

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OTIS

From the Otis series

Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Philomel

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009

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THE WORLD NEEDS THE WONDER YOU SEE

Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children.

Interior decorator and TV personality Gaines invites readers to open their eyes and exercise their imaginations.

There’s a world to be explored out there—and only children can really take part. What does “looking for wonder” entail? Slowing down and looking up, around, and everywhere. At the outset, a group of eager, racially diverse young friends—including one who uses a wheelchair—are fully prepared for a grand adventure. They offer tips about how and where to look: Why, there’s a “grand parade” of marching ants! And, these kids add, perspective is key. A rainy day might signal gloom to some, but to those filled with wonder, showers bring “magic puddles for play”; a forest is “an enchanted world,” the ocean conceals “a spectacular city,” and the night sky boasts “extraordinary sights.” The takeaway: “Wonder is never in short supply.” It’s a robust, empowering message, as is the exhortation to “keep your mind open, and let curiosity guide the way.” Youngsters are also advised to share their discoveries. The upbeat narrative is delivered in clunky verse, but the colorful cartoonish illustrations brimming with activity and good cheer (including some adorable anthropomorphized animals in the backgrounds) make up for the textual lapses and should motivate readers to embark on their own “wonder explorations.”

Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025

ISBN: 9781400247417

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Tommy Nelson

Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025

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