A solid introduction to discovering one’s own heritage that also teaches respect for others’.
Embarrassed by her long, unusual last name, an 8-year old girl discovers a reason to be proud of her heritage in Pillalamarri’s debut children’s book.
Leela Kongkitisoupchai is excited about her first day of second grade, when she’ll reunite with old friends and meet new ones. But her excitement quickly turns to shame and anger when, during roll call, her teacher stumbles on the pronunciation of her name and some fellow students in the class tease her. One boy says, “Could you get me some soup and maybe some chai tea too while you’re at it, pleaseee?” Adding to Leela’s angst is the upcoming mandatory class talent show; she has no idea what she’ll do. At an after-school trip to the grocery store, she encounters classmate Aleph Boker, who’s working behind the bakery counter. He’s sympathetic to her plight, and they find a common bond: “Hey, did you know that my last name is sort of funny too? It is Boker which actually means Baker in Hebrew!” Aleph opens Leela’s eyes to the possibility of finding meaning in her surname, but she’s convinced that hers must mean “nothing cool except for some yucky old soup and some stale cold chai tea.” Finally, after two days of moping, she confides her feelings to her grandmother, who reveals the story behind their family name, and Leela is both astonished and proud. Young readers will delight in Leela’s brave, surprising performance at the talent show. Pillalamarri does a fine job of developing her characters. Leela is an appealing protagonist who’s inquisitive, smart and sensitive. The lovely illustrations, featuring the spunky, freckled Leela, bring the perfectly chosen scenes to vivid life. The prose is smooth, and the dialogue rings with authenticity throughout. However, there are a few places where the narrative starts to drag, particularly the point where Leela attends a baby-naming ritual. Pillalamarri also includes ideas for lessons on genealogy and etymology, including three worksheets for classroom use.
A solid introduction to discovering one’s own heritage that also teaches respect for others’.Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2014
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 97
Publisher: Lion Heart Books LC
Review Posted Online: Nov. 6, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A joyful celebration.
Families in a variety of configurations play, dance, and celebrate together.
The rhymed verse, based on a song from the Noodle Loaf children’s podcast, declares that “Families belong / Together like a puzzle / Different-sized people / One big snuggle.” The accompanying image shows an interracial couple of caregivers (one with brown skin and one pale) cuddling with a pajama-clad toddler with light brown skin and surrounded by two cats and a dog. Subsequent pages show a wide array of families with members of many different racial presentations engaging in bike and bus rides, indoor dance parties, and more. In some, readers see only one caregiver: a father or a grandparent, perhaps. One same-sex couple with two children in tow are expecting another child. Smart’s illustrations are playful and expressive, curating the most joyful moments of family life. The verse, punctuated by the word together, frequently set in oversized font, is gently inclusive at its best but may trip up readers with its irregular rhythms. The song that inspired the book can be found on the Noodle Loaf website.
A joyful celebration. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22276-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
SEEN & HEARD
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