A tender, whimsical look at growth, change, and sisters.
“I’d had my suspicions for a while…that someone had replaced my sister with a girl who looked a lot like her. It had to be!”
These words spread over the opening double-page spread, which presents a small girl kneeling on the floor, surrounded by scattered photographs and gazing disconsolately at a family album. On the next page, she is in a kitchen, staring at her big sister, who “was never so tall.” The art is arresting and amusing, a skillful combination of watercolor and other media, using a limited palette. Young readers with older siblings may recognize signs of adolescence considered typical in Western society: a sudden refusal to engage in childish games; secretiveness—“even when it wasn’t close to my birthday”—new intimacy with Mum; pervasive door-slamming. One telling, funny moment occurs when the protagonist turns to her sister’s friends for clues: “but something wasn’t right with them either. And it wasn’t just that a lot of them were boys.” This passage is accompanied by a lineup of wired-in, apathetic-looking teenagers. Despite stereotyping, the book is noteworthy for taking the viewpoint of a younger sibling instead of the more common theme of a beleaguered older child. Gently humorous art and text transform a simple story into a haven for children feeling temporarily sibling-wary.
A tender, whimsical look at growth, change, and sisters. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-909263-52-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Flying Eye Books
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Aims high but just doesn’t get there.
Beware the imagination that cannot be contained.
When Poppa Fox comes to pick his son up after school he finds Little Fox a complete grump. Happily, Poppa Fox knows just the way to perk up his kiddo. One minute they’re pretending to be race cars, the next they’re dinos on the bus, and then later they’re blasting off to outer space to grab some ice cream. Unfortunately, all that sugar before dinner means that Little Fox’s imagination is now primed to go haywire. Now he’s a robo squid destroying a broccoli forest (rather than eating his dinner), then a shark devouring his dad, who is driving a mail truck (that is, splashing way too much in the tub). Things calm down by bedtime, but when Poppa Fox tells his son he will pick him up again the next day, Little Fox already has big plans. As books built on the power of imagination go, this story starts out strong but loses steam about the time Little Fox loses his focus. Santat’s art does more than its fair share of the heavy lifting, particularly when Little Fox’s imagination is supposed to go off the rails. Madcap adventure never looked this fun. Yet the book can’t quite nail the landing, shifting tone from one page turn to the next, leaving readers ultimately unsatisfied. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 33.8% of actual size.)
Aims high but just doesn’t get there. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-21250-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
A gentle model for living while missing a loved one.
In this Argentine import, laundry day leads to comforting conversations about loss.
The story opens upon a mother and child sitting at a table, plates empty. The somber mood is supported with the white, cream, gray, and black palette. As the youngster describes a special passageway that sometimes appears in their yard, the mother hangs two tomato-red sheets on the clothesline. On the other side of the sheets, viewers see the child diving into the grass to “swim” toward the man (presumably a close relative) who’s mirroring the child’s actions on the other side of the gutter. In this fantasy world, “there’s no danger. / And nothing, nothing at all, can happen to you.” The man’s absence is not explained, but the probability that it is permanent is suggested when his porkpie hat appears on the protagonist’s head at the conclusion. In Schimel’s translation, Wernicke’s words are few but well chosen and expertly paced, the sentences split among the pages allowing for unhurried absorption of meaning. Her curved figures are solid, with cream-colored skin; straight, black hair; and short lines for eyes. No mouths are visible, a decision that adds to the contemplative aura. Subtle patterns add interest, and red—ultimately applied to the mother—signals warmth and love. Joining the quest for the passageway, she notes: “Although we may not always see it, / we can always go looking for it.”
A gentle model for living while missing a loved one. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2251-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Amazon Crossing Kids
Review Posted Online: May 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf