Skip this tour. (Picture book. 5-8)
A class trip to the Big Apple is played out as a variation of the "Twelve Days of Christmas."
The teacher and five children cover the must-see sights of New York City, but they find its exciting quirkiness even more fascinating. Each day and sight has its own double-page spread with the rhythmic text prominently placed. A few word bubbles allow additional comments. Only the Statue of Liberty is actually named in the song, while all the other sights are indicated by something noticed there. They see "Two Folks in Love" in a buggy in Central Park and "Eight Babes a-Bawling" in Grand Central Station, along with the nine other places that add up to 12 days of sightseeing. (One can only begin to imagine at the budget that allows this lengthy a stay.) Ford's illustrations, rendered in a variety of media including India ink, gouache, dyes and Photoshop, depict the city in bright, glowing tones that are cartoonlike but manage to capture the essence of the people and places. Unfortunately, they also include some disturbing elements underneath the lightheartedness. One child uses a slingshot at the Statue of Liberty, another young visitor gets into the dinosaur exhibit at the Museum of Natural History, and ethnic and class stereotypes abound at several of the places visited.
Skip this tour. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 12, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4197-0542*
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Donut miss this delightful diversion.
Squirrel pals go on a stealth mission to procure much-desired donuts in this charming intermediate graphic novel.
Norma and Belly are two brown squirrels who love tasty treats! When Norma burns their pancakes one morning, the two discover something even more exciting: a food truck dedicated exclusively to donuts! Determined to bring a sweet treat back for themselves and their squirrel friends, they approach the donut maker hoping to trade chestnuts for donuts only to be spritzed with water and shooed away. Undeterred, the duo recruit the bespectacled squirrel Gramps and Little Bee, a short squirrel whose profile looks like the letter B, for an incognito mission to steal the donuts they long for. They’ll have to overcome their small stature, an overenthusiastic donut machine, and their potential discovery by the donut maker in order to procure their tasty treats. A happy ending involving a new squirrel-invented donut flavor reassures readers that the owner of the donut truck doesn’t hold a grudge. Norma is a go-getter; her triangular-shaped head and body reflect her willingness to be a bit sharp to get the job done. Belly, thimble-shaped, is optimistic and conflict-averse. A natural color palette and watercolors that comfortably bleed outside thick black lines are fitting for this soft story and let the characters and dialogue shine.
Donut miss this delightful diversion. (Graphic fiction. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-984895-83-7
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
There are many parallel legends – the seal women, for example, with their strange sad longings – but none is more direct than this American Indian story of a girl who is carried away in a horses’ stampede…to ride thenceforth by the side of a beautiful stallion who leads the wild horses. The girl had always loved horses, and seemed to understand them “in a special way”; a year after her disappearance her people find her riding beside the stallion, calf in tow, and take her home despite his strong resistance. But she is unhappy and returns to the stallion; after that, a beautiful mare is seen riding always beside him. Goble tells the story soberly, allowing it to settle, to find its own level. The illustrations are in the familiar striking Goble style, but softened out here and there with masses of flowers and foliage – suitable perhaps for the switch in subject matter from war to love, but we miss the spanking clean design of Custer’s Last Battle and The Fetterman Fight. 6-7
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1978
ISBN: 0689845049
Page Count: -
Publisher: Bradbury
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1978
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