A cozy bit of new-family making—perhaps better not taken too literally.
Single parenting, T. Rex style.
Huge, roaring, toothy T. Rex beds down for the night in a handy empty cave—and wakes with a tiny hatchling theropod staring up at him adoringly: “Dada!” Bellowing, “You’re no Rex!” the discomfited dino lumbers off for a daily round of smashing rocks, uprooting trees, and scaring “every saurus” he sees. But Little Rex trots along and soon is pounding boulders and tearing out (small) trees of his own in imitation. Bonding ensues…and survives big Rex’s frank admission that he’s not Little Rex’s real father. “I hope I’m as terrifying as you when I grow up, Dad.” “I’ll make sure of it,” replies big Rex. “That’s what dads are for!” James never troubles to explain how Little Rex, or more precisely his egg, came to be left in the cave; evidently family arrangements “once upon about 65 million years ago” were fairly casual. Anyway, in splashy, melodramatic cartoon scenes featuring a variety of wide-eyed dinosaurs against a backdrop of erupting volcanoes, James exaggerates the size differential between the two rexes to comical effect, endows Little Rex with a cute overbite, and closes with shared smiles.
A cozy bit of new-family making—perhaps better not taken too literally. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: July 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7294-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
Cheng’s story of a Chinese-speaking grandfather who comes to live with his daughter’s English-speaking family ably communicates the difficulties of the language barrier, and the unanticipated joys that come from working your way through that barrier. Helen is ambivalent about the arrival of her grandfather, Gong Gong, from China. She wants to know her grandfather, but she has had to surrender her room and her cherished view of the train tracks to him. Worst of all, he doesn’t understand what she says, and as she doesn’t understand him, he withdraws. Her mother says to give him some space and time. One day while Helen is sitting on the back wall, Gong Gong joins her, and together they count the train cars as the freight rumbles past. Contact. Helen learns the first eight numbers in Chinese and Gong Gong learns them in English. From there it is a short leap to Helen’s Chinese name and its Chinese characters, and then the letters used to spell Helen. That every journey starts with a first step is a commonplace conceit, but here the notion fits so snugly the point practically sings, and it feels like an adventurous beginning at that. Lushly colored artwork from Zhang is both elegant and captures the moods of tentativeness, surprise, and satisfaction. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000
ISBN: 1-58430-010-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A joyful celebration of Cuban tradition and family ties.
A young Cuban American child visits Abuelo in Cuba and helps him sell fruit in the street.
As Abuelo pushes a cart laden with fruit, they sing out the names of the fruit in the cart: “mango, limón, coco, melón, / naranja, toronja, plátano, piña.” Their happy voices reach far, inviting people to come and purchase. Other street vendors join in, singing out their own wares. The louder they call out, the louder Abuelo must sing. Palacios’ vibrant illustrations beautifully capture the joy and liveliness of the event. The child tells readers, “my favorite visits…are on the eve of el año nuevo” when people buy 12 grapes and make a wish, one for each month of the new year. This child’s wish, reflecting the author’s own leitmotif, is for friendship between the two countries and a time when families on both sides of the narrow strip of ocean that separates them can freely visit. In the author’s note, Engle gives some details on the travel restrictions that keep families apart as well as explaining her choice to use Spanglish in the text. Readers also learn a little more about Cuban street vendors—pregoneros—and the tradition of having grapes on New Year’s Eve. The main character has exuberant wavy black hair and brown skin like Abuelo’s; other characters reflect Cuba’s racial diversity. The story publishes simultaneously in Spanish, with a translation by Alexis Romay. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A joyful celebration of Cuban tradition and family ties. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-4489-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
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