A warm, funny book that will hearten kids with allergies.
A squirrel handles his nut allergy with aplomb—and a little help from his friends—in Sorkin’s debut picture book.
One day, Nutley the squirrel is simply eating “what a squirrel eats” when he has a strange reaction. He itches, puffs up and breaks out in hives, and soon, his fears are confirmed: He has an allergy. (In the illustration, he eats from a big bag of peanuts, which may make some young readers point out that real squirrels eat acorns; however, peanuts are a more familiar allergen in the human world.) In a series of friendly, if singsong, rhymes, Nutley turns out to be a smart little squirrel: He takes charge of his newly discovered allergy in a way that would make any pediatric allergist proud—by making a plan. He talks to his friends, asks for help and focuses on the favorite foods that he can still safely eat, such as gummy bears. At first, he worries that he’ll seem strange to others (“A squirrel allergic to nuts—how odd! / I thought I’d feel alone.”), but his friend the dog immediately speaks up (“I’m a dog allergic to bones!”). It also turns out that the pelican is allergic to fish; the bee, to pollen; and the fly, to stone fruit. Although the verse skips along at a merry pace, some rhymes occasionally fall flat (“Surprising as it is to all, / since I do live in a tree, / I must avoid peanuts and tree nuts / to keep myself healthy”). However, Sorkin’s tale manages to be instructive without being didactic and will likely prove to be a fun read for even allergy-free children. The illustrations engagingly portray Nutley and his crew of supportive friends as looking just as friendly and likable as they appear in the text.
A warm, funny book that will hearten kids with allergies.Pub Date: April 2, 2013
ISBN: 978-1620861585
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Mascot Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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