A contemplative text with vibrant illustrations that should appeal to young readers facing significant changes, such as...
A fearful drop of water makes a momentous discovery in this rhyming debut picture book from a poet.
Ethan begins the day in his cloud home with all his sibling raindrops. The content Ethan knows his place, so when he feels change in the air, he gets worried. One of his brothers embraces the new adventure: “Soon we will be starting our trip. / Water for the ground starts with a drip!” In the face of Ethan’s fear, his brother offers consolation, explaining that water is needed on the ground. Ethan only has to trust in Father Sun and Mother Moon, and he will find himself just where he’s meant to be. Not entirely convinced, Ethan expresses concern when he falls from the cloud in the form of a snowflake. But a sister snowflake comforts him, and Ethan tries to enjoy his descent, and come to terms with losing track of his siblings once he falls into a river. Unable to stay still, Ethan goes with the flow and begins to comprehend that his voyage is taking him where he’s needed (this revelation is accompanied by Wenke’s lovely two-page illustration of the hero looking up at the sun––an image that could inspire more meditative readers to ponder their own journeys). Eventually, Ethan’s escapades end in the sea, and he grasps that he and his family are all connected: “He was one tiny raindrop but as big as the sea. / He was part of the rocks, the rivers, and trees.” Readers are unlikely to learn much about the water cycle here, as Guidera’s science remains on the fuzzy side. Ethan as a raindrop works metaphorically for unexpected transformations. Like Ethan, young readers may be worried about shifts in their routines, and the soothing words from the hero’s siblings and his own realizations may help them begin to deal with sudden problems, such as a friend moving away. The beautiful, painterly illustrations gracefully enhance the narrative. The lengthy poetic text and large vocabulary make this better for lap reading than for newly independent book browsers.
A contemplative text with vibrant illustrations that should appeal to young readers facing significant changes, such as starting a new school.Pub Date: Nov. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5141-1296-0
Page Count: 26
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
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