The perfect choice for a rainy day for readers and nonreaders alike.
The Astrid Lindgren Award winner takes readers—and picture perusers—on a whimsical dog walk in this lush wordless picture book.
The book opens with a child being towed outside by an elderly woman’s fluffy white dog. Boarding a carnival-style miniature train, the pair embarks on a journey through treehouses, castles, parks cultivated and wild, European-style cities, antiques and toy shops, and tropical islands, before arriving safely back home. Masterfully rendered in watercolor, ink, and acrylic and squeezed into intricate double-page spreads, the illustrations are rich in tiny details sure to provide hours of entertainment. There’s a giraffe on what might be a romantic boat ride, goats pulling women modeling rococo and Victorian fashion, another woman fox-trotting with a fox, seals on a beach holiday, and a knight in armor morosely fishing, among many more. Most humans depicted present White, including the woman and child (who wears a red ball cap, helping readers spot them on each page), and most of the artistic and architectural traditions referenced are European in style, though not exclusively. Amusement abounds in the mixture of modern and historical aesthetic elements, Alice in Wonderland variety in proportions of the fantastical beasts and people, and tiny, expressive faces.
The perfect choice for a rainy day for readers and nonreaders alike. (Picture book. 4-12)Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-78250-743-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Floris
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.
Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.
The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
Beautiful, remarkable, amazing, and wonderful in every way.
Hector wants to be a deep-sea diver, just like his father and grandfather.
He has internalized all his grandfather’s tales, especially the story of the “rarest, whitest, and purist pearl in the world,” said to live on the seabed offshore near the Marina, their family business. But the greedy Amedeo Limonta has set up a competitive business that’s forced the Marina to close. When Hector turns 8, everything changes. On his very first dive, he discovers the magical Pearl and brings it home…and complications ensue. Hector heeds his memories and dreams of his grandfather and courageously makes it all right. Hector narrates his adventures in meticulously organized chapters, carefully introducing each character, providing detailed information about relationships and events, and sharing credit for his successes. At the conclusion Hector presents readers with vivid descriptions of his beloved village and its inhabitants. Sabatinelli provides Hector with a voice that soars with lilting, expressive language, losing nothing in Turner’s translation from Italian. Bruno’s intensely bright, sharply hued illustrations are a tour de force. A chart of semaphore flags and diagrams that detail the parts of a diving suit fill the opening pages, and those flags head each chapter. The sea is evoked with glorious dreamlike color and movement, and characters’ features and expressions immediately announce their nature, emotions, and quirks. All present White. Hector is wise, kind, and readers will take him to their hearts.
Beautiful, remarkable, amazing, and wonderful in every way. (Adventure. 6-12)Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-63655-006-0
Page Count: 92
Publisher: Red Comet Press
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
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