While her parents love ``the sameness of their lives,'' Loulou longs for adventure. On her birthday, she gets a package ``from her great-aunt, who was on a fact-finding, fish-gathering expedition on the tiny island of Tumba-Bumba'' and finds inside a fish and a book of instructions (these are written out in longhand and constitute half the text of the book). Loulou follows the instructions, putting away all her old notions about fish and taking Harold (the fish) for a walk in the park, to her dance class, to her tailor (where he is fitted out in tails), and, eventually, to the opera, where he discovers his true calling. He sails away, leaving a crestfallen Loulou with a consolation prize—another fish. Kaleidoscopic gouache illustrations overflow with unlikely details—beginning with a surreal fish parading about town, cats playing fiddles and drums, and dozens of other weird characters. This cerebral book, with its deliberately directionless plot and reliably unpredictable pictures, successfully echoes the signature style of Maira Kalman. What a debut! What a fish! (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-395-71251-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1996
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
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A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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Unhei has just left her Korean homeland and come to America with her parents. As she rides the school bus toward her first day of school, she remembers the farewell at the airport in Korea and examines the treasured gift her grandmother gave her: a small red pouch containing a wooden block on which Unhei’s name is carved. Unhei is ashamed when the children on the bus find her name difficult to pronounce and ridicule it. Lesson learned, she declines to tell her name to anyone else and instead offers, “Um, I haven’t picked one yet. But I’ll let you know next week.” Her classmates write suggested names on slips of paper and place them in a jar. One student, Joey, takes a particular liking to Unhei and sees the beauty in her special stamp. When the day arrives for Unhei to announce her chosen name, she discovers how much Joey has helped. Choi (Earthquake, see below, etc.) draws from her own experience, interweaving several issues into this touching account and delicately addressing the challenges of assimilation. The paintings are done in creamy, earth-tone oils and augment the story nicely. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: July 10, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-80613-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2001
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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