An elegant conversation starter to a not-so-simple question.
From animals to plants, sky to sea, people to people, we’re all connected.
In rhythmic text that flows from one page to the next, Oppenheim asks the titular question, “Where do I end and you begin?” The question is repeated from cat to tail to shell to snail; from branch to tree to sky to sea; from smell to flower to rose to bower; from jump to rope to hill to slope. Emphasizing and extending the simple text, the illustrations also flow from one page to the next, starting with the jacket cover, on which both title and a cat begin on the outside and end on the inside jacket flaps. In warm and luminous watercolors that stand out from the white background, Felix goes beyond the text to add details that invite careful readers to look and then look again. Does the cat on the cover make several appearances? Are the children on the branch a foreshadowing of the children at the end? How many more connections can be made? Between the smell and the flower, Felix adds a bear and honey, for example. And see how a hill becomes a camel. It all ends with a hug.
An elegant conversation starter to a not-so-simple question. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-56846-274-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Creative Editions/Creative Company
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A lovely tale to share, day or night.
Luminous, intricate illustrations light up this tale of a lonely Moon, who yearns to trade places with the wise Sun.
Imagining the wonder of watching flowers bloom and children play, Moon eagerly proposes the switch—but Sun makes two preconditions: first, the exchange must be permanent, and second, Moon should first spend an entire night looking down at Earth more closely than ever before. Yankey lays flat, cut-paper figures of pale children, bright carpets of delicate flowers, sinuously elongated wild creatures, and flowing lines of landscape over backgrounds of deep, starry darkness. With this technique, she shows the astonished Moon city lights shining out, sleeping children flying through magical dreams, baobab flowers floating like ghosts, raccoons scampering on mysterious errands in the silvery forest, and fireflies gleaming like low stars. All of these are profound revelations, and by the time Sun returns, the enthralled Moon has changed his mind completely about ever losing them. The narrative describes Moon’s discoveries in sonorous but unaffected language.
A lovely tale to share, day or night. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-927018-60-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simply Read
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2015
Sweet—and savory.
When a girl visits her grandmother, a writer and “grand friend,” she is seeking something special to share at show and tell on the first day of school.
Before Brook can explain, Mimi expresses concern that certain words describing the natural world will disappear if someone doesn’t care for and use them. (An author’s note explains the author’s motivation: She had read of the removal of 100 words about outdoor phenomena from the Oxford Junior Dictionary.) The duo sets out to search for and experience the 19 words on Mimi’s list, from “acorn” and “buttercup” to “violet” and “willow.” Kloepper’s soft illustrations feature green and brown earth tones that frame the white, matte pages; bursts of red, purple, and other spot colors enliven the scenes. Both Mimi and Brook are depicted as white. The expedition is described in vivid language, organized as free verse in single sentences or short paragraphs. Key words are printed in color in a larger display type and capital letters. Sensory details allow the protagonist to hear, see, smell, taste, and hold the wild: “ ‘Quick! Make a wish!’ said Mimi, / holding out a DANDELION, / fairy dust sitting on a stem. / ‘Blow on it and the seeds will fly. / Your tiny wishes in the air.’ ” It’s a day of wonder, with a touch of danger and a solution to Brook’s quest. The last page forms an envelope for readers’ own vocabulary collections.
Sweet—and savory. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7073-2
Page Count: 62
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
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