by Sylvaine Nahas & illustrated by Bimba Landmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2001
Otherworldly artwork accompanies Nahas’s American debut, the story of a boy who dreams of meeting a unicorn. Rendered in a palette of mauve, pink, and midnight blue, Landmann’s (The Genius of Leonardo, 2000, etc.) opening spread reveals the city of Venice at sunrise. “ ‘Nicolo, why aren’t you ready for school yet?’ asks his older brother. ‘What are you daydreaming about?’ ” “ ‘I’m dreaming about meeting a unicorn,’ ” says Nicolo on the next page. But his brother lacks imagination. So do his teacher, mother, and aunt. “ ‘Don’t be silly,’ ” they all say. “ ‘You know there’s no such thing as a unicorn.’ ” Breathtaking illustrations depict Nicolo and the mythical creature side by side. One, for example, reveals the pair in a magical forest of rust, brown, and mutable green. In another, Nicolo—cloaked in deep purple with almond eyes and aquiline nose—feeds flowers to the blue unicorn. Perhaps most striking, however, is Landmann’s use of bronze powder—transformed by the printing process into graceful touches of gold—to illuminate touches of the illustration. Unfortunately, Nahas’s narrative lacks the same refinement. The story ends abruptly when Nicolo seeks the help of his grandfather, who not only tells him where to find a unicorn (in art, music, and books) but never to stop believing. Readers never get a sense of how this encounter changes Nicolo. Buy this one for the art and all of those unicorn fans, and have children come up with an ending on their own. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-8230-5580-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2002
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by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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by Karma Wilson ; illustrated by Jane Chapman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 16, 2024
Cheery fun that will leave series fans “egg”-static.
In his latest outing, Bear and his pals go in search of eggs.
Bear “lumbers with his friends through the Strawberry Vale.” Raven finds a nest; climbing up, “The bear finds eggs!”: a refrain that appears throughout. Instead of eating the robin’s eggs, however, Bear leaves a gift of dried berries in the nest for the “soon-to-be-chicks.” Next, the friends find 10 mallard eggs (as bright blue as the robin’s), and Bear leaves sunflower seeds. Then the wail of Mama Meadowlark, whose bright yellow undercarriage strikes a warm golden note, leads them to promise to find her lost eggs. With his friends’ assistance, Bear finds one, and they decide to paint them “so they aren’t lost again.” Another is discovered, painted, and placed in Hare’s basket. After hours of persistent searching, Bear suddenly spots the remaining two eggs “in a small patch of clover.” Before they can return these eggs, the chicks hatch and rejoin their mother. Back at his lair, Bear, with his troupe, is visited by all 17 chicks and the robin, mallard, and meadowlark moms: “And the bear finds friends!” Though this sweet spring tale centers on finding and painting eggs, it makes no overt references to Easter. The soft green and blue acrylics, predictable rhymes, and rolling rhythm make this series installment another low-key natural read-aloud.
Cheery fun that will leave series fans “egg”-static. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781665936552
Page Count: 40
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
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