In a fond salute, Lewin (Red Legs, p. 588, etc.) introduces readers to his favorite Chinese take-out place. It is a mood piece, striving for ambience rather than story line, and it succeeds admirably. The narrator is a young Chinese boy who takes readers through a day in his family’s Chinese restaurant, beginning with his own tour of duty carrying in supplies. A slew of uncles staffs the kitchen, chopping vegetables and meats, prepping for the lunchtime onslaught. “Chop! Chop! Chop! Dice and slice. Trim and dice. Slice and shred. Faster. Faster.” Lewin’s watercolors work wonders with the tight but electric bustle of the men as they respond to the gathering mayhem of lunch orders. Filling the pages with activity, he leaves borders of space for the text, which reflects the varying colors of the food and interior lights when the pictures are inside and are in black when the ordinary outside world is the scene. Then there are the regulars (including the handsome illustrator), whose orders are shouted into the kitchen without them even having to open their mouths. All day, the little boy pitches in to help, folding menus, packing take-out bags, and passing along orders. In a wonderfully abrupt turn, Lewin closes the long day at the restaurant with the narrator enjoying his favorite food—a slice of pizza. Finally, Lewin himself prepares to eat his favorite dish and offers the recipe, except for the “special secret sauce.” Everyone loves take-out food. And everyone ought to love this, from its menu on the endpapers to the aromas that fairly rise off the page. Readers won’t just drink in its transporting atmosphere, but will soon be on their way to their nearest Chinese community to taste the very air as well as the food. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-688-16026-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2001
Lovely and evocative, just the thing to spark an interest in the original and its sequels—and the upcoming film sequel, Mary...
Refined, spit-spot–tidy illustrations infuse a spare adaptation of the 1934 classic with proper senses of decorum and wonder.
Novesky leaves out much—the Bird Woman, Adm. Boom, that ethnically problematic world tour, even Mr. and Mrs. Banks—but there’s still plenty going on. Mary Poppins introduces Jane and Michael (their twin younger sibs are mentioned but seem to be left at home throughout) to the Match-Man and the buoyant Mr. Wigg, lets them watch Mrs. Corry and her daughters climb tall ladders to spangle the night sky with gilt stars, and takes them to meet the zoo animals (“Bird and beast, star and stone—we are all one,” says the philosophical bear). At last, when the wind changes, she leaves them with an “Au revoir!” (“Which means, Dear Reader, ‘to meet again.’ ”) Slender and correct, though with dangling forelocks that echo and suggest the sweeping curls of wind that bring her in and carry her away, Mary Poppins takes the role of impresario in Godbout’s theatrically composed scenes, bearing an enigmatic smile throughout but sharing with Jane and Michael (and even the parrot-headed umbrella) an expression of wide-eyed, alert interest as she shepherds them from one marvelous encounter to the next. The Corrys have brown skin; the rest of the cast presents white.
Lovely and evocative, just the thing to spark an interest in the original and its sequels—and the upcoming film sequel, Mary Poppins Returns, which opens in December 2018. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-328-91677-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
This tale of self-acceptance and respect for one’s roots is breathtaking.
A young Chinese American girl sees more than the shape of her eyes.
In this circular tale, the unnamed narrator observes that some peers have “eyes like sapphire lagoons / with lashes like lace trim on ballgowns,” but her eyes are different. She “has eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea.” Author Ho’s lyrical narrative goes on to reveal how the girl’s eyes are like those of other women and girls in her family, expounding on how each pair of eyes looks and what they convey. Mama’s “eyes sparkl[e] like starlight,” telling the narrator, “I’m a miracle. / In those moments when she’s all mine.” Mama’s eyes, the girl observes, take after Amah’s. While she notes that her grandmother’s eyes “don’t work like they used to,” they are able to see “all the way into my heart” and tell her stories. Here, illustrator Ho’s spreads bloom with references to Chinese stories and landscapes. Amah’s eyes are like those of the narrator’s little sister. Mei-Mei’s eyes are filled with hope and with admiration for her sister. Illustrator Ho’s textured cartoons and clever use of light and shadow exude warmth and whimsy that match the evocative text. When the narrator comes to describe her own eyes and acknowledges the power they hold, she is posed against swirling patterns, figures, and swaths of breathtaking landscapes from Chinese culture. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
This tale of self-acceptance and respect for one’s roots is breathtaking. (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-291562-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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