Though the ending is too feel-good, the message that hard work pays off is clear; here’s hoping readers understand its...
A young boy obsessed with sharks becomes one in this tale about hard work and perseverance.
Nate’s bedroom is decorated with sharks; he reads books about them, watches TV shows about them, and spouts shark facts. His behavior can also be somewhat sharklike. But as his older brother, Alex, points out, “I’m the only real Shark in this family.” From the poster, photo, trophies, and uniform and duffel in Alex’s room, it’s clear that he’s talking about a swim team, and Nate can’t swim. But he has a plan to learn, and readers follow along with his swim lessons for a week as he learns the basics. Following Nate’s initial forays into the pool, Cattie and Luebbe skip the details and the hard work of Nate “practicing his tail off for weeks” and fast-forward to his first attempt to swim by himself. Of course he’s successful, and three full-page illustrations show his growing confidence and ability. And then there’s tryouts for the Sharks. Improbably, as the crowd cheers his titular nickname, he blows past Alex and becomes an official Shark. Nate’s tale is followed by a double-page spread of shark facts. Duncan’s characters are expressive in his scribbly illustrations. Nate and his family present white; the swim team is diverse.
Though the ending is too feel-good, the message that hard work pays off is clear; here’s hoping readers understand its limits as well. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 3, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0496-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child...
Imani endures the insults heaped upon her by the other village children, but she never gives up her dreams.
The Masai girl is tiny compared to the other children, but she is full of imagination and perseverance. Luckily, she has a mother who believes in her and tells her stories that will fuel that imagination. Mama tells her about the moon goddess, Olapa, who wins over the sun god. She tells Imani about Anansi, the trickster spider who vanquishes a larger snake. (Troublingly, the fact that Anansi is a West African figure, not of the Masai, goes unaddressed in both text and author’s note.) Inspired, the tiny girl tries to find new ways to achieve her dream: to touch the moon. One day, after crashing to the ground yet again when her leafy wings fail, she is ready to forget her hopes. That night, she witnesses the adumu, the special warriors’ jumping dance. Imani wakes the next morning, determined to jump to the moon. After jumping all day, she reaches the moon, meets Olapa and receives a special present from the goddess, a small moon rock. Now she becomes the storyteller when she relates her adventure to Mama. The watercolor-and-graphite illustrations have been enhanced digitally, and the night scenes of storytelling and fantasy with their glowing stars and moons have a more powerful impact than the daytime scenes, with their blander colors.
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child to be admired. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-934133-57-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Mackinac Island Press
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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