A strange, original Christmas tale that suggests a sweet family tradition within an anachronistic adventure.
When two young angels crash-land their shooting star in a shepherd’s meadow on the first Christmas Eve, they begin a journey that may sprout some family rituals in this debut picture book.
On a clear night, a shepherd named Mr. David; his wife, Ms. Elizabeth; and their five children admire the beautiful bright star in the heavens. Suddenly, their lives are turned upside-down by Gabe and Gabriella, two angel children who have come, via a flying-carlike shooting star, to invite the family to welcome the baby Jesus into the world. When Betsy, the youngest child, says she’s sad they have no presents to give the baby for his birthday, Gabe supplies an answer, giving each of them a blank silver coin. As the shepherd family travels with Gabriella to Bethlehem, each coin takes on a virtue represented by its giver: sharing, integrity, friendship, joy, forgiveness, kindness, and love. When the clan reaches the stable, it presents Ms. Mary with the gifts for the baby, which she places in special pockets of a stocking she made for her child. The next day, the shepherd and his family discover they, too, have been given stockings to hang on their hearth, and each is given a similar coin, with the instruction to share them with each other over the year in a charming practice some readers might embrace. The angel children bring the holy family to join the shepherd’s clan for a feast and party, complete with pony rides and birthday cake. Some readers familiar with the story of the first Christmas may enjoy LaFargue’s anachronistic twists, from the family naming conventions to the integration of modern customs like stockings and cake. Others, however, may find these juxtapositions jarring and be distracted by the reinforced traditional gender roles (Ms. Elizabeth bakes for her family as the story opens; only the girls offer to babysit Jesus; Gabriella never suggests driving the shooting star herself). While young readers should delight in Harper’s joyful and colorful illustrations, which navigate the odd tale well, they are unlikely to be patient enough for the lengthy text.
A strange, original Christmas tale that suggests a sweet family tradition within an anachronistic adventure.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4575-5027-0
Page Count: -
Publisher: Dog Ear
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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