by Rotraut Susanne Berner & illustrated by Rotraut Susanne Berner & translated by Neeltje Konings & Nick Elliot ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2008
In this modern Richard Scarry look-alike, readers observe a bustling town though four seasons. The original version, published in German in 2003 in four volumes, has now been translated and condensed for an American audience. The result is a super-packed, sophisticated, almost wordless, look-and-find adventure. In each season readers see the same scenes, such as the park, the department store, the train station and the farm. Before each season, a page introduces several characters and shares information about them or asks questions such as “Who is this mysterious motorcyclist?” Readers then follow the motorcyclist through the town until he finally reveals himself as Santa. European flair is noticeable in the funky, comfortable clothes and style of the cars. Also Continental are such details as a mother nursing her baby in the park (subtly) or someone smoking in a cafe (yikes!). Younger readers might find the loose structure and the complexity of information overwhelming, but older, minutiae-oriented children will be entertained for hours. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-8118-6474-9
Page Count: 70
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2008
Share your opinion of this book
More by Rotraut Susanne Berner
BOOK REVIEW
by Rotraut Susanne Berner ; illustrated by Rotraut Susanne Berner
BOOK REVIEW
by Rotraut Susanne Berner ; illustrated by Rotraut Susanne Berner
BOOK REVIEW
by Rotraut Susanne Berner & illustrated by Rotraut Susanne Berner & translated by Shelley Tanaka
by Maribeth Boelts ; illustrated by Noah Z. Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 4, 2016
Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on...
Continuing from their acclaimed Those Shoes (2007), Boelts and Jones entwine conversations on money, motives, and morality.
This second collaboration between author and illustrator is set within an urban multicultural streetscape, where brown-skinned protagonist Ruben wishes for a bike like his friend Sergio’s. He wishes, but Ruben knows too well the pressure his family feels to prioritize the essentials. While Sergio buys a pack of football cards from Sonny’s Grocery, Ruben must buy the bread his mom wants. A familiar lady drops what Ruben believes to be a $1 bill, but picking it up, to his shock, he discovers $100! Is this Ruben’s chance to get himself the bike of his dreams? In a fateful twist, Ruben loses track of the C-note and is sent into a panic. After finally finding it nestled deep in a backpack pocket, he comes to a sense of moral clarity: “I remember how it was for me when that money that was hers—then mine—was gone.” When he returns the bill to her, the lady offers Ruben her blessing, leaving him with double-dipped emotions, “happy and mixed up, full and empty.” Readers will be pleased that there’s no reward for Ruben’s choice of integrity beyond the priceless love and warmth of a family’s care and pride.
Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on children. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6649-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
Share your opinion of this book
More by Maribeth Boelts
BOOK REVIEW
by Maribeth Boelts ; illustrated by Daniel Duncan
BOOK REVIEW
by Maribeth Boelts ; illustrated by Angela Dominguez
BOOK REVIEW
by Maribeth Boelts & illustrated by Lauren Castillo
by Andrea Zimmerman & David Clemesha ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 30, 1999
Part of a spate of books intent on bringing the garbage collectors in children’s lives a little closer, this almost matches...
Listeners will quickly take up the percussive chorus—“Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the Trashy town! Is the trash truck full yet? NO”—as they follow burly Mr. Gilly, the garbage collector, on his rounds from park to pizza parlor and beyond.
Flinging cans and baskets around with ease, Mr. Gilly dances happily through streetscapes depicted with loud colors and large, blocky shapes; after a climactic visit to the dump, he roars home for a sudsy bath.
Part of a spate of books intent on bringing the garbage collectors in children’s lives a little closer, this almost matches Eve Merriam’s Bam Bam Bam (1995), also illustrated by Yaccarino, for sheer verbal and visual volume. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: April 30, 1999
ISBN: 0-06-027139-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
Share your opinion of this book
More by Andrea Zimmerman
BOOK REVIEW
by Andrea Zimmerman ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino
BOOK REVIEW
by Andrea Zimmerman ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino
BOOK REVIEW
by Andrea Zimmerman ; illustrated by Jing Jing Tsong
© 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.