by Rosemary Wells & illustrated by Petra Mathers ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2006
Wells spins out an original tale loosely based on local legends from a small town in southern France. Caught by a sudden tide, two young friends, both named “Marie,” ascend to heaven, where one convinces God to allow them to return to Earth for a time to care for neighbors and loved ones. Rowing upon clouds in their small boat, the two cure one sick child, help rescue another from a well, calm a team of horses and other small good deeds—all of which are actually recorded in paintings in the town’s church. Bright smiles on their delicately drawn features, the two Maries float through rustic scenes of pink flamingoes and peach trees in blossom, of rainbows and fields of lavender—all of which is based on Mathers’s visit to the area. Narrated in a distinct, cheery voice by one Marie, this is a much simplified version of the traditional story (for one thing, there are three Maries associated with the locale), but its sweetness will draw young readers, particularly fans of Tomie dePaola’s retold saints’ legends. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-670-05960-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2006
Share your opinion of this book
More by Rosemary Wells
BOOK REVIEW
by Rosemary Wells ; illustrated by Rosemary Wells
BOOK REVIEW
by Rosemary Wells ; illustrated by Rosemary Wells
BOOK REVIEW
by Rosemary Wells ; illustrated by Rosemary Wells
by Dinah Johnson ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1999
Johnson (All Around Town, 1998) sketches out the activities for the six days leading up to Sunday. Monday is reserved for the blues, Tuesday for double Dutch workouts, Wednesday for choir practice, Thursday for reading with Miss Augusta (“books filled with magic words. We can taste them and hear them and fashion them—speak words written and said long ago to make today and tomorrow our own”), Friday—“Finally Friday,”—with its fish and hush puppies, and workday Saturday. Then comes Sunday at the Lovely Hill Baptist Church, and displays of fashion, toe-tapping music, gathering, and feasting. The spirituality in these pages is caring and inclusive, so no one is a stranger here; Geter’s pastels are studied and a little self-conscious, but as warm as the biscuits served at Sunday dinner. (Picture book. 6-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8050-4911-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1999
Share your opinion of this book
More by Dinah Johnson
BOOK REVIEW
by Dinah Johnson ; illustrated by Jerry Jordan
BOOK REVIEW
by Dinah Johnson ; illustrated by Anna Cunha
BOOK REVIEW
by Dinah Johnson ; illustrated by April Harrison
by David A. Adler ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1999
Adler (also with Widener, Lou Gehrig, 1997, etc.) sets his fictional story during the week of July 14, 1932, in the Bronx, when the news items that figure in this tale happened. A boy gets a dime for his birthday, instead of the bicycle he longs for, because it is the Great Depression, and everyone who lives in his neighborhood is poor. While helping his friend Jacob sell newspapers, he discovers that his own father, who leaves the house with a briefcase each day, is selling apples on Webster Avenue along with the other unemployed folk. Jacob takes the narrator to Yankee Stadium with the papers, and people don’t want to hear about the Coney Island fire or the boy who stole so he could get something to eat in jail. They want to hear about Babe Ruth and his 25th homer. As days pass, the narrator keeps selling papers, until the astonishing day when Ruth himself buys a paper from the boy with a five-dollar bill and tells him to keep the change. The acrylic paintings bask in the glow of a storied time, where even row houses and the elevated train have a warm, solid presence. The stadium and Webster Avenue are monuments of memory rather than reality in a style that echoes Thomas Hart Benton’s strong color and exaggerated figures. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201378-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
Share your opinion of this book
More by David A. Adler
BOOK REVIEW
by David A. Adler ; illustrated by Anna Raff
BOOK REVIEW
by David A. Adler ; illustrated by Edward Miller
BOOK REVIEW
by David A. Adler ; illustrated by John O’Brien
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.