This winner is sure to find a spot on shelves, although it won’t stay there long.
Elya has proven herself a master at painlessly weaving Spanish vocabulary into her stories, and this latest is no exception.
Four bomberos and el capitán race to gear up and get to the fire after the alarm sounds. As humo fills the sky, they work together to aim the hose and douse las flamas. Firefighting is a perennially popular topic, and while the actual story here is rather unexceptional, Elya makes this book stand out in other ways. Yes, there are Dalmatians in the station and a fire pole to slide down. There is danger and the rescue of a cat. But there is also a woman on this firefighting team, and as always, Elya’s rhyming couplets are a joy to read aloud. Context clues as well as words that are close to English make most of the Spanish vocabulary easy to decode. A glossary helps readers with any they may be unsure of and provides pronunciation help. Santat’s illustrations also help to set this firefighter book apart. From the first page, he thrusts readers into the action with up-close views created with colored pencil, water on ink print, fire and Photoshop. His firefighters are real people with needs, interests and fears, who sweat and get dirty.
This winner is sure to find a spot on shelves, although it won’t stay there long. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: April 24, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-59990-461-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
As much of a treasure as the gold they find.
Adventure-seeking red-dress–wearing brown girl + amenable crocodile = the perfect ingredients for finding a boatload of treasure.
Schwarz throws together a wild imagination, travel, and an unlikely pair of companions to create a fabulously enjoyable and visually rich picture book that will have young readers digging up their backyards and marking the perfect spots. Anna, a diminutive, card-playing, and determined little girl, suggests to her reptilian buddy that they "find gold." After planning, sketching, and reading each other's curious facial expressions, Anna and Crocodile set out to do just that. Readers always know where to look, as Anna's red dress and Crocodile's greenness stand out neatly against their black-and-white pencil-sketched background. When the tale becomes a full-blown imaginative adventure, however, mixed-media color spreads across both pages. They sail to the middle of the ocean and dive into its teeming, mysterious depths, and they find that gold. When the pair returns with their booty, color follows them, illustrating the life-changing power of fantastical thinking. Young treasure seekers will want to revisit this tale again and again, and when they do, they will be rewarded by details they missed on earlier readings.
As much of a treasure as the gold they find. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-8104-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Intergalactic derring-do, and home just in time for supper.
Rescue plans go seriously awry when a space pirate’s captive shows no intention of leaving.
As his second thrilling adventure (Space Boy and His Dog, 2015) begins, outer-space adventurer Niko is reading a scary book about the threat of space pirates. Not long after, his cousin Sasha is apparently nabbed by just such a scurvy interplanetary knave, and it’s up to the intrepid hero and his loyal crew—co-pilot Radar (a robot) and Tag (a dog)—to rescue her from the Planet Zorg. But what’s this? Could it be that the space pirate is none other than Niko’s own tricky sister, Posh? When Niko is spotted, Posh attempts to “delete” the girls from Niko’s outer-space imaginings with a premature “THE END!” She then hijacks his spaceship, leaving Niko and crew stranded. Fortunately, you can’t keep a good spaceman down. Five brief chapters break the action into separate, exciting set pieces worthy of Tom Swift, and the characters’ bickering over who should end the story echoes the previous book’s metafictive commentary. Neubecker’s digital art crackles and pops as Niko’s spaceship exudes curlicues of red and black smoke and lands on a planet awash in reds, yellows, and oranges.
Intergalactic derring-do, and home just in time for supper. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-59078-956-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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