An earnest, well-intentioned addition to the contemporary environmental movement.
Alexander-Heaton and Gabriell’s vividly illustrated, poetic picture book introduces children to the magic of nature.
Today’s kids will eventually inherit a planet whose natural resources and ability to sustain life will be rapidly dwindling. Author Alexander-Heaton and designer Gabriell have set out to create a fun way to teach young children about the importance and fragility of nature, using both rhyming poetry and mixed-media illustrations. Alexander-Heaton, who grew up in rural Manitoba, had a childhood characterized by a love of the wilderness, and her debut aims to encourage a similar perspective. What sets this book apart from other eco-aware titles is Alexander-Heaton’s inclusion of an imaginary world of fairies. Each fairy represents an aspect of nature and serves as its guardian. Quinella, for example, is “the ruler of the oceans, rivers and seas,” while Buzzalina flits among the flowers bringing happiness to all creatures. As promised, the book uses each letter of the alphabet as a prompt for both the name of the fairy (“E is for Echinops,” etc.) and for two poems, the first spoken by the narrator as a sort of short biography of the fairy and the second by the fairy him- or herself, encouraging the reader to help protect the butterflies, appreciate a rainbow, refrain from littering or find the silver lining to any cloud. While the rhymes are sometimes wrenched into a strict form, children will probably find a number of them delightful. Adults may find the poems and overall message a bit clichéd and the illustrations a tad treacly (and occasionally uncanny), but children will be drawn to the rich colors and unusual collagelike images. Overall, the work is an inspired invitation to preserve our beautiful planet.
An earnest, well-intentioned addition to the contemporary environmental movement.Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2009
ISBN: 978-0981304809
Page Count: 58
Publisher: Motivated by Nature
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
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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