Warmth and quiet humor capture the realities of a new baby in the house.
Waiting for a little sister to be born and then waiting for her to grow up can be trying, but it eventually has its rewards.
As the book starts, Liam, a white kindergartner, is being woken up by his Nana-Downstairs “Big news. Baby Sophie is on her way. Mom and Dad went to the hospital.” Finally, after waiting through half of kindergarten and through Liam’s birthday, Sophie is on her way. It turns out even being born takes time. And then when Sophie comes home it is just “burping and crying and diapers and a little bit of throwing up.” It is all very boring. Liam turns to Nana-Downstairs—with whom he has a very warm and close relationship—for help. Together they build a Get Older Faster machine. But will it work? And what will Liam learn from the experiment? Nana-Downstairs sets the tone for this down-to-earth, sweet, but never mushy story. The accompanying illustrations have a simple, gentle quality that neatly matches the story. The hand-printing–style type used for the text also complements the story and is easy for readers entering the world of early chapter books to decode.
Warmth and quiet humor capture the realities of a new baby in the house. (Fiction. 5-7)Pub Date: April 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-77278-020-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Pajama Press
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy.
Robo-parents Diode and Lugnut present daughter Cathode with a new little brother—who requires, unfortunately, some assembly.
Arriving in pieces from some mechanistic version of Ikea, little Flange turns out to be a cute but complicated tyke who immediately falls apart…and then rockets uncontrollably about the room after an overconfident uncle tinkers with his basic design. As a squad of helpline techies and bevies of neighbors bearing sludge cake and like treats roll in, the cluttered and increasingly crowded scene deteriorates into madcap chaos—until at last Cath, with help from Roomba-like robodog Sprocket, stages an intervention by whisking the hapless new arrival off to a backyard workshop for a proper assembly and software update. “You’re such a good big sister!” warbles her frazzled mom. Wiesner’s robots display his characteristic clean lines and even hues but endearingly look like vaguely anthropomorphic piles of random jet-engine parts and old vacuum cleaners loosely connected by joints of armored cable. They roll hither and thither through neatly squared-off panels and pages in infectiously comical dismay. Even the end’s domestic tranquility lasts only until Cathode spots the little box buried in the bigger one’s packing material: “TWINS!” (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 52% of actual size.)
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-544-98731-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
It’s good fun to see this vigorous, involved Grandma leading the fishing expedition.
An Inuit brother and sister learn to jig for fish with their anaanatsiaq.
The older brother narrates the plainly told story as he and Jeela, his younger sister, encourage their grandma to take them on “an adventure.” Their jolly “favorite elder” readily agrees and tells them about the layered clothing they will need. She gathers the tools for ice-fishing, and they all get into the large ATV for the ride to the lake. Along the way, they pass a dog sled and some inuksuit (stone markers). The entire process is carefully described, from testing the ice with a metal probe to making the hole with the tuuq (a chisel), removing the pieces of ice from the hole with an ice skimmer (a large spoon with holes), and tying the shiny colorful lures to fishing line attached to flat wooden planks, or jigging sticks. The digital pictures have an animation aesthetic and show a happy family of contemporary Inuit practicing a skill used by their ancestors. The children share their catch with many elders in the community who can no longer fish. Nothing dramatic happens, and Grandma gets a little preachy (“It is important to learn traditional skills and know how to be prepared”), but it’s clear this trio has had a splendid time.
It’s good fun to see this vigorous, involved Grandma leading the fishing expedition. (list of tools, glossary) (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: June 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77227-084-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Inhabit Media
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2016
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