This book contains pretty much what you’d expect.
Anthropomorphized woodland creatures celebrate God’s love and guidance in a child’s life.
This board book features sweet illustrations of animal caregivers expressing their love for their young alongside rhyming text that explains God’s presence in a child’s world. The pages are die cut along the top in arcs, so they look like a rainbow behind a cloud-edged cover; with each turn of the page, another layer of the rainbow is exposed. The shiny effect of the rainbow’s arches is eye-catching and will certainly appeal to young readers. Kolanovic’s illustrations are adorable if not particularly imaginative, including some sweet details, such as a baby squirrel clutching a teddy bear and a duckling joyfully splashing. Though quite charming, the panda duo feels a little out of place among all of the temperate woodland creatures. The rhyming text has a singsong feel, which makes it an easy read-aloud for adults with little lap listeners. It includes all of the usual sentiments about God in a child’s life: “He sent you from above”; he is “always in your heart”; and “Lord God will guide your way.” While familiar and comforting, these statements are also unremarkable and a bit tired. This book is a good fit for those in the Christian faith who want a traditional, formulaic book about God’s presence in a young child’s life.
This book contains pretty much what you’d expect. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)Pub Date: March 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68010-569-8
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A scrumptious treat to be savored and enjoyed, just like a fine holiday dinner.
On Christmas Eve, a large apartment house on 133rd Street in the Bronx becomes the site of a multicultural neighborhood party.
Manzano, a Pura Belpré honoree and Maria on Sesame Street, teams up with Caldecott honoree Priceman for this vibrant story. The setting is the apartment of a Puerto Rican family preparing their special Christmas Eve dinner. Mami is trying to cook a huge roast, but it won’t fit in her small oven. Papi and José decide to take the roast to their friend who owns a pizzeria to see if he can help. On their way, they meet several neighbors and friends of different ages and ethnic groups; all are stressed, lonely, or worried about money. When the father and son return with the cooked roast, its delicious aroma transforms everyone who smells it, wafting them along on swirls of contented delight. They all float up the stairs to the apartment for a Christmas Eve dinner, fitting everyone into just one small apartment—a Christmas miracle. The polished text uses dramatic pacing, dialogue, emotion, and characterization to excellent effect. Priceman’s dazzling illustrations are filled with pulsating energy, glowing colors, and the radiant smiles of the neighbors who find community together. A magical, hopeful vitality permeates the art, reflected in multiple swirling elements wound through the illustrations.
A scrumptious treat to be savored and enjoyed, just like a fine holiday dinner. (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-689-87887-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
A gritty story filled with hope and idealism.
A young boy is forced to leave the Chennai jail that is the only home he’s ever known.
When Kabir is deemed too old to stay and is sent out into the world all alone, separated from his wrongfully imprisoned mother, he decides to search for the family of the father he has never met to try to save his mother from her unjustly long sentence. Armed with faith, instinctive wits, and the ability to run fast, Kabir escapes danger and meets Rani, a teenage girl from the marginalized Kurava, or Roma, people who is traveling with her parrot. She teaches Kabir, who has a Hindu mother and a Muslim father, about caste dynamics and survival on the streets. She accompanies him to Bengaluru, where Kabir eventually meets his paternal grandparents. Along the way, their experiences reveal the invisibility of low-caste people in Indian society, tensions between neighboring states over water supplies, and the unexpected kindness of helpful strangers. Kabir’s longing for freedom and justice underscores bittersweet twists and turns that resolve in an upbeat conclusion, celebrating his namesake, a saint who sought to unify Muslims and Hindus. Kabir engages readers by voicing his thoughts, vulnerability, and optimism: While his early physical environment was confined within prison walls, his imagination was nourished by stories and songs. This compelling novel develops at a brisk pace, advanced by evocative details and short chapters full of action.
A gritty story filled with hope and idealism. (author's note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-11247-2
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
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