A sensitive script, touches of humor, and a captivating design combine for an excursion readers will want to repeat.
A bear and a butterfly embark on a transformational journey.
In A Million Dots (2019), German graphic designer Völker explored exponential growth. Here, he presents visual and verbal contrasts for viewers to ponder. Bear is an immense, solid black form, whereas Butterfly is a slight, airy creature with green, blue, and yellow gossamer wings. Butterfly invites Bear to accompany her on a trip. Bear is initially attuned to practical matters—food, rest, and destination. The philosophical, Yoda-esque insect explains, “The journey itself is the reward.” Compositions incorporate a pleasing balance of flat colors and stylized images (trees shaped like pyramids, falling leaves as ovals) and textured objects (a tan cave speckled with black dots). As the conversation continues, Bear finds a rhythm as he climbs the mountain, enjoys the magnificent view, and summons the courage to swim across a rushing river. Butterfly’s patience and encouragement and Bear’s playfulness contribute much to the expedition’s quality, their mutual vulnerability allowing them to connect and care for one another. One enjoyable spread depicts Bear snacking on berries while Butterfly sips nectar from some flowers. She remarks, “And then you’ll poo out the seeds and more flowers will grow. We’re part of a great big circle.” Observant children will notice the rounded sun behind them, the moon on the next page, and their return to their point of origin. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A sensitive script, touches of humor, and a captivating design combine for an excursion readers will want to repeat. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781800660373
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cicada Books
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available.
A ghost learns to appreciate his differences.
The little ghost protagonist of this title is unusual. He’s a quilt, not a lightweight sheet like his parents and friends. He dislikes being different despite his mom’s reassurance that his ancestors also had unconventional appearances. Halloween makes the little ghost happy, though. He decides to watch trick-or-treaters by draping over a porch chair—but lands on a porch rail instead. A mom accompanying her daughter picks him up, wraps him around her chilly daughter, and brings him home with them! The family likes his looks and comforting warmth, and the little ghost immediately feels better about himself. As soon as he’s able to, he flies out through the chimney and muses happily that this adventure happened only due to his being a quilt. This odd but gently told story conveys the importance of self-respect and acceptance of one’s uniqueness. The delivery of this positive message has something of a heavy-handed feel and is rushed besides. It also isn’t entirely logical: The protagonist could have been a different type of covering; a blanket, for instance, might have enjoyed an identical experience. The soft, pleasing illustrations’ palette of tans, grays, white, black, some touches of color, and, occasionally, white text against black backgrounds suggest isolation, such as the ghost feels about himself. Most humans, including the trick-or-treating mom and daughter, have beige skin. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-16.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 66.2% of actual size.)
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7352-6447-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Just the thing for anyone with a Grinch-y tree of their own in the yard.
A grouchy sapling on a Christmas tree farm finds that there are better things than lights and decorations for its branches.
A Grinch among the other trees on the farm is determined never to become a sappy Christmas tree—and never to leave its spot. Its determination makes it so: It grows gnarled and twisted and needle-less. As time passes, the farm is swallowed by the suburbs. The neighborhood kids dare one another to climb the scary, grumpy-looking tree, and soon, they are using its branches for their imaginative play, the tree serving as a pirate ship, a fort, a spaceship, and a dragon. But in winter, the tree stands alone and feels bereft and lonely for the first time ever, and it can’t look away from the decorated tree inside the house next to its lot. When some parents threaten to cut the “horrible” tree down, the tree thinks, “Not now that my limbs are full of happy children,” showing how far it has come. Happily for the tree, the children won’t give up so easily, and though the tree never wished to become a Christmas tree, it’s perfectly content being a “trick or tree.” Martinez’s digital illustrations play up the humorous dichotomy between the happy, aspiring Christmas trees (and their shoppers) and the grumpy tree, and the diverse humans are satisfyingly expressive.
Just the thing for anyone with a Grinch-y tree of their own in the yard. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-7335-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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