This puzzling book makes for a confusing read. Tallulah is a privileged little girl who, because of her wealth, cannot enjoy the hallmarks of childhood. She cannot get dirty because of her lovely dresses, and she unhappily rides to school in a limousine. Readers may be forgiven some confusion. Is Tallulah sad because she is rich and lonely? Or clean? Or because she wants to be like everyone else? At the story’s climax, Tallulah saves a drowning dog (in ridiculously unconvincing fashion—she throws it her sash). Conveniently, an apparently wealthy boy appears in a suit and tie to help her. In the end, Tallulah confesses to the grown-ups who she really is ("I like to wear jeans") and, predictably, gets to keep the soggy puppy. Does this mean that being "like everyone else" means getting what you want? Tallulah is drawn to look like Spelling, with wide-set brown eyes and blond hair. Her diamond earrings sparkle, and her outfits are detailed, in direct contrast to the other children, who are more sketchily drawn. Frankly, the other children seem more interesting. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4169-9404-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2010
A deeply felt narrative, distilled from contemporary reports and documents.
A Southern novelist looks to the Civil War’s immediate aftermath in this newly free child’s account of a weary search for his mother.
“War’s over. Government say we free. Folks be on the move. Getting the feel for freedom. Not me.” He joins the large number of ex-slaves who, “all hope and hurry on,” have hit the road in search of brighter futures, but young Gabe has a different goal: tracking down his sold-away and only living parent Rosie Lee. Keeping his goal before him like the fixed North Star, he travels for months from Mobile to the “worn-down toes of the Appalachian Mountains,” following vague leads from sympathetic listeners and offices of the Freedman’s Bureau, enduring hardships and disappointment. Applying paint in thickly brushed impasto, Shepherd views Gabe’s world and encounters from a child’s-eye height but gives the barefoot, raggedly clad boy a look of hard-won maturity that points to past sorrows and underscores the depth of his determination. His distinct voice will draw readers into caring about his quest and sharing the tide of joy that accompanies his ultimate success: “That night, I slept snuggled up tight with my mama, praying for all those boys like me searching for their mamas who be searching for them.”
A deeply felt narrative, distilled from contemporary reports and documents. (afterword) (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-933693-97-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press
Review Posted Online: June 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2011
A superficial sketch, driven far more by its worthy agenda than by any effort or evident desire to connect with real readers.
An NFL quarterback and the “Queen of Christian Fiction” (so styled by Time magazine) deliver a heaping shovelful of sugary inspiration.
Dreaming of becoming, respectively, a football player and a pilot, young classmates Alex and Bobby face obstacles. Alex is small and always is chosen last for playground kickball, and Bobby is a foster child with attendant self-esteem and poverty issues, but they overcome them with hard work and an encouraging jingle from Alex’s singing grandpa: “Go ahead and dream, / However big it seems. / Work hard, believe, / And don’t give up.” The news that grandpa has “gone to heaven” leaves both lads sad, but his memory prompts them to keep each other on the path to success, and by the time they’ve reached adulthood, guess what? Receiving nary a nod in either the blurb or Kingsbury’s afterword, Banning contributes appropriately bland, static scenes featuring realistically painted figures (Bobby has slightly darker skin than “Alex,” who closely resembles his adult namesake) with glossy skin and plastic smiles.
A superficial sketch, driven far more by its worthy agenda than by any effort or evident desire to connect with real readers. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-168625-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 21, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
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