by Samantha Chagollan ; illustrated by Evgenia Golubeva ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2017
Though the premise is amiable, the execution is lacking.
Little Red Riding Hood searches for her missing Abuelita all over the forest, encountering many fairy-tale characters and finally happening upon a surprise.
Little Red finds a note on her grandmother’s door telling her to “Go next door!” That’s the Three Bears’ house, but they tell her Abuelita’s not there and give her a plate of empanadas. At the Three Little Pigs’ compound, the busy porkers send her on with tamales. Everyone in the forest encourages her to keep looking and adds food to her basket. Deep in the forest, Little Red finally reaches her own surprise birthday party, given by her Abuelita and forest neighbors. The primary narrative appears in the margin, with the rest of the double-page spread occupied by a colorful scene that incorporates flaps labeled with the English names of various elements (“door”; “bear”). Lifting the flaps allows readers to see the Spanish translations and pronunciations (“la puerta / la PWEAR-tah”; “el oso / el OH’-so”). Despite good intentions, this mildly pleasing book is flawed with errors and omissions. Gender-dependent vocabulary defaults to masculine; a mother duck is rendered “el pato,” for instance, and a pig in a dress is labeled “el cerdo.” Hansel and Gretel greet Little Red with a glaringly incorrect “Buenas días.” The foodstuffs, however, are presented without explanation or translation, and readers who know some Spanish will wonder why Little Red’s name is in English.
Though the premise is amiable, the execution is lacking. (Novelty. 3-5)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-63322-242-7
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Walter Foster Jr.
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017
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by Nancy Loewen ; illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2011
Loewen’s story is a simple snapshot of kindergarten graduation day, and it stays true to form, with Yoshikawa’s artwork resembling photos that might be placed in an album—and the illustrations cheer, a mixed media of saturated color, remarkable depth and joyful expression. The author comfortably captures the hesitations of making the jump from kindergarten to first grade without making a fuss about it, and she makes the prospect something worth the effort. Trepidation aside, this is a reminder of how much fun kindergarten was: your own cubbyhole, the Halloween parade, losing a tooth, “the last time we’ll ever sit criss-cross applesauce together.” But there is also the fledgling’s pleasure at shucking off the past—swabbing the desks, tossing out the stubbiest crayons, taking the pictures off the wall—and surging into the future. Then there is graduation itself: donning the mortarboards, trooping into the auditorium—“Mr. Meyer starts playing a serious song on the piano. It makes me want to cry. It makes me want to march”—which will likely have a few adult readers feeling the same. (Picture book. 4-5)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5807-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2011
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by Nancy Loewen ; illustrated by Hazel Michelle Quintanilla
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retold by Brigette Barrager & illustrated by Brigette Barrager ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2011
Digital illustrations vary in format from spot art to full-bleed spreads, but everything from the begowned princesses to the...
The particular challenge of redoing a well-known, oft-published fairy tale is to offer a fresh or fruitful take, and this one doesn’t.
Digital illustrations vary in format from spot art to full-bleed spreads, but everything from the begowned princesses to the sparkling underground land they visit each night falls flat. The princesses are named for blossoms, each one “lovelier than the flower she was named for,” but their impossibly tiny waists and huge blue eyes look like a cheap, dull version of Disney. Their dance postures barely connote motion. On the page that displays the tale’s premise—that “[e]very morning, without fail, the soles of the princesses’ shoes were worn out and full of holes”—Barrager shows (nine) slippers that are grubby and scuffed but lack a single hole. Matching the insipid aesthetic is a text stripped of grit. No men lose their lives trying to solve the mystery before the hero (here, Pip the cobbler) does, and there are no men in the princesses’ underground boats, which “float silently” of their own accord. The boats need to float of their own accord, because these princesses have neither agency nor consciousness: They’re asleep from start to finish of the dancing escapades.Pub Date: June 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8118-7696-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
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