Exuding a zest for living and loving, this nautical narrative is an ode to joy.
In this tender story, a newborn duckling experiences music as sweet solace and meaningful communication while searching for love.
Moments before a “sudden and mighty gale whipped the seas into a raging fury,” a beaming Capt. Alfred had bestowed a name on the fragile egg nestled in his violin case—a present for his wife. The jovial bald white man had fiddled for his crew (ducks and dog), leading them in a merry, anticipatory dance. As stirring language and sweeping brush strokes conjure a fearsome tempest, a capsized boat, and a silent fog, everything disappears. Eventually Alfred Fiddleduckling emerges, floating along in an open violin case, reaching out to caress a piece of flotsam: the fiddle; he continues to interact with it after reaching land, captivated by its voice. The sounds from the instrument, rendered in acrylics as swirls of brilliant, feathery colors, waft through the dense atmosphere, finding first the dog and then the captain’s anxious wife (also white). Ering replaces words with visual clues to suggest homecoming, thereby avoiding a too-tidy conclusion. The vibrant yellow of the protagonist merges with the home’s brilliant illumination in the final scene. Layered with energetic paint strokes, delicate ink drawings, and warm touches of charcoal and graphite, the compositions are full of high drama, nuanced emotion, and humor.
Exuding a zest for living and loving, this nautical narrative is an ode to joy. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6432-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Intended as an amusing parody, this groans with outdated irrelevance and immaturity.
While spending the day with Grandpa, young Goldie offers tips on the care and keeping of grandparents.
Though “loyal and loving,” Goldie’s grandfather proves to be quite a character. At Grandparents Day at school, his loud greeting and incessant flatulence are embarrassing, but Goldie is confident that he—and all grandparents—can be handled with the “right care and treatment.” The young narrator notes that playtime should involve the imagination rather than technology—“and NO video games. It’s just too much for them.” Goldie observes that grandparents “live on a diet of all the things your parents tell them are bad for them” but finds that Grandpa’s favorite fast-food restaurant does make for a great meal out. The narrator advises that it’s important for grandparents to get plenty of exercise; Grandpa’s favorite moves include “the Bump, the Hustle, and the Funky Chicken.” The first-person instruction and the artwork—drawn in a childlike scrawl—portray this grandfather in a funny, though unflattering, stereotypical light as he pulls quarters from Goldie’s ears, burps on command, and invites Goldie to pull his finger. Goldie’s grandfather seems out of touch with today’s more tech-savvy and health-oriented older people who are eager to participate with their grandchildren in contemporary activities. Though some grandparent readers may chuckle, kids may wonder how this mirrors their own relationships. Goldie and Grandpa are light-skinned; Goldie’s classmates are diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Intended as an amusing parody, this groans with outdated irrelevance and immaturity. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-24932-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
Cheng’s story of a Chinese-speaking grandfather who comes to live with his daughter’s English-speaking family ably communicates the difficulties of the language barrier, and the unanticipated joys that come from working your way through that barrier. Helen is ambivalent about the arrival of her grandfather, Gong Gong, from China. She wants to know her grandfather, but she has had to surrender her room and her cherished view of the train tracks to him. Worst of all, he doesn’t understand what she says, and as she doesn’t understand him, he withdraws. Her mother says to give him some space and time. One day while Helen is sitting on the back wall, Gong Gong joins her, and together they count the train cars as the freight rumbles past. Contact. Helen learns the first eight numbers in Chinese and Gong Gong learns them in English. From there it is a short leap to Helen’s Chinese name and its Chinese characters, and then the letters used to spell Helen. That every journey starts with a first step is a commonplace conceit, but here the notion fits so snugly the point practically sings, and it feels like an adventurous beginning at that. Lushly colored artwork from Zhang is both elegant and captures the moods of tentativeness, surprise, and satisfaction. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000
ISBN: 1-58430-010-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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