Wall weaves a tale that may be too complex for its target audience; still, many youngsters will get caught up in this web.
Creating something worthwhile takes time, effort, and patience.
Since childhood, Kiara the spider has spun webs to catch food. Then she sees a web so beautiful that it inspires her to create something similar. Her initial efforts fail, and each time she achieves a breakthrough, another animal accidentally destroys the web. “Hey, I worked hard on that!” she protests. Discouraged, Kiara abandons artistry, then notices that the inspirational web’s gone. Orb, its weaver, suggests that the two collaborate, and the results are lovely. Next morning, hungry Orb breaks the web while grabbing a morsel from it; Kiara refuses to work with Orb again. When Kiara accidentally destroys Paws the squirrel’s “sculpture,” all’s forgiven because, as Paws explains, “I learned a thing or two for my next piece.” Kiara’s never thought about art like that, and she, Paws, and Orb join artistic forces. This thought-provoking story about the nature of creativity is geared more to adult sensibilities; young children are generally more interested in the fun process of making art than in perfecting their craft, as Kiara does. Terms such as dimension and scale and phrases such as “on the cusp of something” won’t be meaningful to youngsters. It’s commendable, however, that expressive Kiara is portrayed determinedly pursuing her passion; she’s also an exemplar of self-confident persistence. The colorful digital illustrations are by turns delicate and lively and incorporate examples of creative typesetting; those intricate webs are spectacular.
Wall weaves a tale that may be too complex for its target audience; still, many youngsters will get caught up in this web. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9781665938723
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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