This illustrated tale provides a tantalizing peek at Paris through the eyes of a charming protagonist and her stuffed sloth.
An enthusiastic young girl and her talking, stuffed-animal companion explore Paris in this debut picture book.
Aya wakes up and gets ready for a big day of traveling—to Paris. Aya, a dark-skinned girl with curly hair (brushed into a topknot by her Papa) and glasses, appears to be about 5 years old. Her traveling companion, Pete, is a chatty stuffed sloth. Together with her parents, Aya and Pete learn to count to 10 in French and visit many well-known landmarks, including the Jardin de Luxembourg, Notre Dame, the Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower. In this series opener, the mother-daughter team of Gore and Minott integrates French words into the text, sometimes explaining them for readers in Aya’s thoughts. Other times, as with food and location names, they let the illustrations show the meanings. Aya’s world is full of love—her parents are always present without being in the way of her adventures—and she and Pete have a comical relationship. Travel picture books require a lot of text to create a proper framework, but the authors’ use of an accessible vocabulary will keep readers from becoming overwhelmed. Búzio’s (Be More Sloth, 2018, etc.) painted images beautifully capture both the busy city and Aya and Pete’s bond.
This illustrated tale provides a tantalizing peek at Paris through the eyes of a charming protagonist and her stuffed sloth.Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-9992236-0-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Ashima Inc. D/B/A Ashima Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PERSPECTIVES
Tales that “lay out your options for painful and interesting ways to die.” And to live.
In a similarly hefty companion to Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods (2014), the most voluble of Poseidon’s many sons dishes on a dozen more ancient relatives and fellow demigods.
Riordan averts his young yarn spinner’s eyes from the sex but not the stupidity, violence, malice, or bad choices that drive so many of the old tales. He leavens full, refreshingly tart accounts of the ups and downs of such higher-profile heroes as Theseus, Orpheus, Hercules, and Jason with the lesser-known but often equally awesome exploits of such butt-kicking ladies as Atalanta, Otrera (the first Amazon), and lion-wrestling Cyrene. In thought-provoking contrast, Psyche comes off as no less heroic, even though her story is less about general slaughter than the tough “Iron Housewives quests” Aphrodite forces her to undertake to rescue her beloved Eros. Furthermore, along with snarky chapter heads (“Phaethon Fails Driver’s Ed”), the contemporary labor includes references to Jay-Z, Apple Maps, god-to-god texting, and the like—not to mention the way the narrator makes fun of hard-to-pronounce names and points up such character flaws as ADHD (Theseus) and anger management issues (Hercules). The breezy treatment effectively blows off at least some of the dust obscuring the timeless themes in each hero’s career. In Rocco’s melodramatically murky illustrations, men and women alike display rippling thews and plenty of skin as they battle ravening monsters.
Tales that “lay out your options for painful and interesting ways to die.” And to live. (maps, index) (Mythology. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4231-8365-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The little boy, all decked out in mackintosh, rain hat and boots, looks prepared for something tougher than this fragile fantasy about his search for a rainbow and the games he would play with it if he found it. The full-size, water color and pastel illustrations are bright and attractive. Especially well done is the coloring of the sky and landscape during the heavy thundershower, and the turbulence they suggest helps to balance the sweetness of the story for the boy returns home to find the rainbow in his room and the scenery becomes flooded with inspirational-looking sunbeams.
Pub Date: March 20, 1966
ISBN: 1595190708
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: April 25, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1966
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