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THE WIND AND THE TREES

Name: THE WIND AND THE TREES
Author: Todd Stewart
ISBN: 978-1-77147-433-7

by Todd Stewart ; illustrated by Todd Stewart ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 15, 2021

Arresting art and an intelligent dialogue speak movingly to the realities of universal life cycles.

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Two neighboring pine trees converse about the effects of natural forces in the first title that Canadian artist Stewart has also authored.

A sapling on the verso greets a mature specimen on the recto; they appear to be Scotch pines, the taller tree displaying discrete, undulating shapes poised at the tip of each branch. Even though they present a repeated perspective, the breathtaking silk-screened scenes are full of drama and movement, offering a range of moods as the colors and textures of the backgrounds and trees change. A wondrous spread features a purple, starlit sky with wind-swept, turquoise trees, one sheltering a raccoon. Green, snow-dusted branches hold an eagle’s nest against a peaceful gray sky. Stewart’s text develops a convincing relationship that suggests a wise, nurturing elder and an eager, loyal youth, all the while incorporating recent findings about tree communication and established science. The dangers caused by wind are described—stretched roots, dryness, breakage—as are the benefits: “my roots grow deeper and my bark becomes stronger. / The wind carries my messages…to other trees in the forest.” Sharp eyes will notice the subtle growth and deterioration, respectively, on either side of the gutter. A golden, wordless absence—and a new page that recalls the departed tree’s positive thoughts—provides a satisfying conclusion, as does the emergence of a new seedling.

Arresting art and an intelligent dialogue speak movingly to the realities of universal life cycles. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 15, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-77147-433-7

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Owlkids Books

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)