This latest Beany adventure (Beany [Not Beanhead] and the Magic Crystal, 1997, etc.) has all the ingredients that made Wojciechowski’s previous tales such rousing successes. Being the flower girl in her favorite cousin’s wedding has the anxiety-ridden Beany in a tizzy. Cousin Amy is the next best thing to a sister for Beany, so despite her many misgivings, Beany is determined to do the job properly. With the wedding several months away, she has plenty of time to ponder the many pitfalls that lurk ahead. In typical Beany-fashion, she worries about what she will wear, walking down the aisle, getting the perfect wedding present, and a multitude of other fears. Yet, Beany is full of pluck and determined to meet her troubles head-on. As always, Wojciechowski’s writing rings true. Beany’s concerns, ruminations, and antics are grounded in reality, revealing an innate understanding of young grade-school readers, who can readily relate to Beany’s keen yet comical observations. “Carol Ann is my best friend because we live on the same street and sit next to each other on the school bus, but sometimes I don’t really like her that much.” There are plenty of mishaps to keep readers laughing, such as Beany’s lemonade enterprise, which endures a hasty demise at the paws of the neighborhood canine menace. Natti’s black-and-white sketches, highlighting Beany’s misadventures, are a comical counterpart to the text. Fans and newcomers alike will be rooting for Wojciechowski’s intrepid heroine as she tackles her anxieties with grit and fortitude. (Fiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0924-2
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2000
Lunge-Larsen and Preus debut with this story of a flower that blooms for the first time to commemorate the uncommon courage of a girl who saves her people from illness. The girl, an Ojibwe of the northern woodlands, knows she must journey to the next village to get the healing herb, mash-ki- ki, for her people, who have all fallen ill. After lining her moccasins with rabbit fur, she braves a raging snowstorm and crosses a dark frozen lake to reach the village. Then, rather than wait for morning, she sets out for home while the villagers sleep. When she loses her moccasins in the deep snow, her bare feet are cut by icy shards, and bleed with every step until she reaches her home. The next spring beautiful lady slippers bloom from the place where her moccasins were lost, and from every spot her injured feet touched. Drawing on Ojibwe sources, the authors of this fluid retelling have peppered the tale with native words and have used traditional elements, e.g., giving voice to the forces of nature. The accompanying watercolors, with flowing lines, jewel tones, and decorative motifs, give stately credence to the story’s iconic aspects. (Picture book/folklore. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-395-90512-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1999
This vibrant, thoughtful book from Katz (Over the Moon, 1997) continues her tribute to her adopted daughter, Lena, born in Guatemala. Lena is “seven. I am the color of cinnamon. Mom says she could eat me up”; she learns during a painting lesson that to get the color brown, she will have to “mix red, yellow, black, and white paints.” They go for a walk to observe the many shades of brown: they see Sonia, who is the color of creamy peanut butter; Isabella, who is chocolate brown; Lucy, both peachy and tan; Jo-Jin, the color of honey; Kyle, “like leaves in fall”; Mr. Pellegrino, the color of pizza crust, golden brown. Lena realizes that every shade is beautiful, then mixes her paints accordingly for portraits of her friends—“The colors of us!” Bold illustrations celebrate diversity with a child’s open-hearted sensibility and a mother’s love. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8050-5864-8
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
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