Attractive and initially inventive but ultimately lacking in substance
When a toothy black wolf falls out of a book in a little girl’s overstuffed library, he learns that real life can be much scarier than fiction.
The mouse-sized wolf (remember, he fell out of a book) tries to escape from a cat by plunging back in, but a sheep kicks him out “because he arrived too early in the story.” He tries again. But the other wolves scold him because he is arriving “when the story is finished.” He climbs the “tall, straight” shelves, nearly falling in his terror. He tries to climb into a fairy tale but is rejected because he is unsuitably dressed for a ball. Another book about dinosaurs is equally unwelcoming, being full of dangerous animals. Choosing another book “at random,” he finds himself in a large forest, where he finds a “little girl dressed in red,” sitting on a log and weeping. The wolf agrees to accompany her to her grandmother’s house. Those familiar with the story of Little Red Riding Hood will make the connection and may even enjoy the enigmatic, anticlimactic joke at the end; young readers who don’t know that story will be mystified. Mabire’s pen-and-watercolor illustrations are workmanlike, if repetitive—the cover, endpapers, and several spreads offer similar views of Sophie’s library bookshelves, which become monotonous after a while.
Attractive and initially inventive but ultimately lacking in substance . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4236-4797-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Gibbs Smith
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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