UNDER THE BLANKET SKY

Name: UNDER THE BLANKET SKY
Author: Tim Fischer
ISBN: 978-0-593-64591-8

by Tim Fischer ; illustrated by Tim Fischer ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 30, 2023

Sunlight and feathers are the stars of the show, but the intended audience of this story is clearly its adult consumers.

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The enchanted haze of childhood serves as the backdrop for a nostalgia-soaked tale.

One summer morning, a bespectacled, light-skinned child encounters “a strange creature” in the backyard. We see what appears to be a gargantuan fuzzy owlet gazing down at the nameless young narrator, eyes sparkling. The two soon become inseparable, the child showing the newcomer “all my favorite things to do / and places to spend time.” Wordless spread after wordless spread showcases a childhood filled with push-button landline phones, stuffed animals, and toy trucks, all cast in the cozy glow of sun-filtered imagery. The creature looks on as the child wields a sword, draws with sidewalk chalk, and plays with a toy robot; snuggled up against a pillow, the two fall asleep together. We’re deep in “Puff, the Magic Dragon” territory here as autumn arrives and the friend must move on as our hero prepares for the first day of school. Fischer leans heavily on Gen-X wistfulness in his illustrations, conjuring up a world absent of adults or even other people. While the dreamlike art proves to be the true lure, the storytelling rehashes a familiar theme more likely to be appreciated by grown-ups—saying goodbye to a beloved part of childhood on the path to growing up. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Sunlight and feathers are the stars of the show, but the intended audience of this story is clearly its adult consumers. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: May 30, 2023

ISBN: 978-0-593-64591-8

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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I'LL WALK WITH YOU

by Carol Lynn Pearson ; illustrated by Jane Sanders ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 17, 2020

An unfortunately simplistic delivery of a well-intentioned message.

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Drawing on lyrics from her Mormon children’s hymn of the same title, Pearson explores diversity and acceptance in a more secular context.

Addressing people of varying ages, races, origins, and abilities in forced rhymes that omit the original version’s references to Jesus, various speakers describe how they—unlike “some people”—will “show [their] love for” their fellow humans. “If you don’t talk as most people do / some people talk and laugh at you,” a child tells a tongue-tied classmate. “But I won’t! / I won’t! / I’ll talk with you / and giggle too. / That’s how I’ll show my love for you.” Unfortunately, many speakers’ actions feel vague and rather patronizing even as they aim to include and reassure. “I know you bring such interesting things,” a wheelchair user says, welcoming a family “born far, far away” who arrives at the airport; the adults wear Islamic clothing. As pink- and brown-skinned worshipers join a solitary brown-skinned person who somehow “[doesn’t] pray as some people pray” on a church pew, a smiling, pink-skinned worshiper’s declaration that “we’re all, I see, one family” raises echoes of the problematic assertion, “I don’t see color.” The speakers’ exclamations of “But I won’t!” after noting others’ prejudiced behavior reads more as self-congratulation than promise of inclusion. Sanders’ geometric, doll-like human figures are cheery but stiff, and the text’s bold, uppercase typeface switches jarringly to cursive for the refrain, “That’s how I’ll show my love for you.” Characters’ complexions include paper-white, yellow, pink, and brown.

An unfortunately simplistic delivery of a well-intentioned message. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: March 17, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-4236-5395-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Gibbs Smith

Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
DAY-OLD CHILD
by Carol Lynn Pearson ; illustrated by Corey Egbert

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WAKE ME UP IN 20 COCONUTS!

by Laurie Keller ; illustrated by Laurie Keller ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 20, 2022

A worthy message wrapped up in a playful romp.

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A romp about saying “I don’t know.”

An apartment building full of cartoonlike creatures shown interacting through their windows (a clever illustrative decision) evokes the lively life of urban living. When one neighbor asks another (via the window) to wake them up in “20 coconuts,” the neighbor agrees but then admits to himself that he doesn’t know what that means—something that bothers him because he is known for being a know-it-all; in fact, he comes from a family of know-it-alls. Ah, pressure! The know-it-all gets himself into a tizzy, cleans his ears and finds a sock and a chicken, consults “Phoney” (his cellphone), and even gets his brain washed by Wally’s Wash Works. If this all sounds extremely silly and somewhat chaotic, it is—which means kids will probably love it. Eventually, he wakes up his neighbor with his yelling (right on time, apparently) but admits to her he doesn’t know what 20 coconuts means. She offers to explain, but then he says he has to be somewhere in “11 bananas,” throwing her into confusion. The energetic (some may say frenzied) tone is amplified by illustrations that have lots going on, with various characters talking in dialogue bubbles to each other, but the message itself comes across as a little light until an explanatory note from the “brains” spells it out—it’s OK to say you don’t know. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A worthy message wrapped up in a playful romp. (Picture book. 3-5)