by Simona Ciraola ; illustrated by Simona Ciraola ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 9, 2014
Though Felipe’s not the first prickly children’s-book character ever to want a hug, he certainly is a charmer.
All Felipe wants is a hug—trouble is, Felipe is a cactus.
Not only is he a cactus, his family members are terrible snobs who “[believe] one should never trespass into another’s personal space.” They are also a great variety of cactus types, but what they lack in botanical consistency they make up for in an unfriendly uniformity of expression. Felipe appears to be a baby barrel cactus, with one bright pink flower atop his head. He is a lot less interested in “reach[ing] a high position,” as his family tells him he will, than in just getting a hug. His family not being “the touchy feely type,” he just has to hope that somebody else will come along. One day he makes friends with a balloon, with disastrous results. (The headlines read “Cactus Attack: Balloon in Hospital” and “Shame on the Family.”) He uproots himself to find companionship (his bare stump looks amusingly like tighty whiteys, and he walks on impossibly tiny pipe-stem legs). He resigns himself to life as a hermit till one day he hears weeping: It is Camilla, a lonely rock, and at last Felipe gets his hug. Ciraola tells her story with wry understatement, allowing her expressive illustrations to carry the narrative. Her palette is greens and pinks against cream-colored negative space with a few sandy pebbles added to situate Felipe and his family in their desert habitat.
Though Felipe’s not the first prickly children’s-book character ever to want a hug, he certainly is a charmer. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-909263-49-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flying Eye Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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by Kobi Yamada ; illustrated by Natalie Russell ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2017
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. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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by Carson Ellis ; illustrated by Carson Ellis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 24, 2015
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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by Randall de Sève ; illustrated by Carson Ellis
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by Mac Barnett ; illustrated by Carson Ellis
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