PLB 0-7868-2186-8 Luz and her beloved grandfather (The Farolitos of Christmas, 1995), or abuelo, return in the somber family story set in New Mexico. The two of them enjoy working on Luz’s homework, planning a garden, and going fishing. One spring day while they are fishing, a young boy falls into the stream and Luz’s grandfather must jump in to rescue him. He saves the boy, but catches a chill, gets pneumonia, and dies. Luz mourns him, and at Christmas time asks if she can take farolitos (paper bags with lighted candles set inside) to the cemetery to place around his grave. It launches a new tradition, complete with Christmas carols, in a joyful remembering of the dead. The story, though not as lyrical as the original, is readable and appealing. Gonzales provides flat, rather stiff portraits of the people of Luz’s village that can render dramatic scenes—e.g., the rescue—frozen. In other paintings, however, the stillness adds a kind of haunting beauty, as in the scenes in the cemetery, where the blue ground is lit by the glowing farolitos. (glossary) (Picture book. 6-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-7868-0237-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PLB 0-517-70967-8 Me And My Family Tree (32 pp.; $13.00; PLB $14.99; May; 0-517-70966-X; PLB 0-517-70967-8): For children who are naturally curious about the people who care for them (most make inquiries into family relationships at an early age), Sweeney explains, with the assistance of a young narrator, the concept of a family tree. Photographs become understandable once the young girl learns the relationships among family members; she wonders what her own family tree will look like when she marries and has children. A larger message comes at the end of this story: not only does she have a family tree, but so does everyone in the world. Cable’s drawings clearly define the process of creating a family tree; she provides a blank tree so children can start on their own geneaology.(Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-517-70966-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
One of a four-book series designed to help the very young prepare for new siblings, this title presents a toddler-and-mother pair (the latter heavily pregnant) as they read about new babies, sort hand-me-downs, buy new toys, visit the obstetrician and the sonographer, speculate and wait. Throughout, the child asks questions and makes exclamations with complete enthusiasm: “How big is the baby? What does it eat? I felt it move! Is it a boy or girl?” Fuller’s jolly pictures present a biracial family that thoroughly enjoys every moment together. It’s a bit oversimplified, but no one can complain about the positive message it conveys, appropriately, to its baby and toddler audience. The other titles in the New Baby series are My New Baby (ISBN: 978-1-84643-276-7), Look at Me! (ISBN: 978-1-84643-278-1) and You and Me (ISBN: 978-1-84643-277-4). (Board book. 18 mos.-3)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-84643-275-0
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Child's Play
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
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