Rosa-Casanova's first book is a terrific blend of a cumulative tale, a cook's tour of ethnic cuisine—a genuine sense of apartment life, and an unforced display of affection. Mama Provi lives on the ground floor of a city building; her granddaughter Lucy lives on the eighth floor. When Lucy gets the chicken pox, Mama Provi whips up a big batch of arroz con pollo (Mama, in a family of twelve, is hardwired to cook in great quantities) and sets out to scale the apartment stairs. On each floor, as she catches her breath, Mama Provi smells something delicious—fresh bread, frijoles negros, collard greens, an apple pie—and trades a bowl of rice for a portion of each, as well as some salad and tea. By the time she gets to Lucy, a fine feast has been hunted and gathered in a story with elegant forward energy and well-paced repetitions. Roth's watercolor-and-ink illustrations have all the eccentricity the tale deserves, and superbly conjure the special life that goes on in the hallways and stairs of apartment buildings. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-689-31932-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1997
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
What makes the best story? That’s the question Anne finds herself asking her family when she sets out to win a writing contest but discovers that “this writing stuff [is] hard and lonely.” In turns, her brother tells her to put in lots of action, her father advises comedy, her aunt instructs her to make it sad and her cousin says that “if it’s not romantic it’s a loser.” Anne revises her tale to adapt each time, resulting in a hodgepodge of rogue plot elements. Wilsdorf’s gleeful cartoons make the most of their opportunities: A monkey weeps at the funeral of his pet goldfish in one iteration, then dances at his wedding to the pirate’s sister in the next. What’s a budding author to do? With a little sound counsel from her mother, Anne writes what she knows, from her heart. “Maybe I’ll win … and maybe I won’t. Either way, I’ll be happy…. Because the story I wrote is my own.… And that makes it the best.” (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3055-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2008
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