A beautifully written, quietly poignant depiction of one family’s journey through loss.
A telephone box and a little imagination help a family confront their grief.
An Asian-presenting family sits around a low table with a conspicuously empty seat. The scene is depicted in a soft, muted, melancholy blue, while a memory of a meal with the now-departed loved one is shown in sunny yellow. That yellow hue then reappears in the form of a bird, which guides one of the family members to a telephone box where they have a (one-way) conversation with their loved one (“Can you hear me? I just hear the wind. Is that you?”). Other family members have conversations, too; after, each discovers a yellow flower and brings it back to the house, adding to a growing bouquet on the table. When one of the members learns about this, they break the vase, furious, scattering the flowers and the family. Only when the anguished member finds solace through the telephone can they also find peace with their family. Structured around the seasons, poetic text alternates between narration and dialogue. Sensitively composed illustrations, rendered in watercolor, pen, and colored pencil in a pastel palette, use colors thoughtfully. An author’s note explains that this telephone box (kaze no denwa, or wind phone) is real and located in Ōtsuchi, Japan; it was created by Itaru Sasaki as a way to cope with the death of his cousin, and it has provided solace for others, including those affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A beautifully written, quietly poignant depiction of one family’s journey through loss. (photograph, resources on grief) (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-42640-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
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A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren.
In talk-show host Fallon and illustrator Ordóñez’s latest picture-book collaboration, an elderly pooch waxes rhapsodic about a life well lived.
Observing Papa sitting in his chair watching TV all day, a young pup says, “I’m starting to think…you don’t do ANYTHING.” So Papa proceeds to list his accomplishments, both big and small, mundane and profound. Some are just a result of being older and physically bigger (being tall enough to reach a high shelf and strong enough to open jars); others include winning a race and performing in a band when he was younger. Eventually, the pup realizes that while Papa may have slowed down in his old age, he’s led a full life. The most satisfying thing about Papa’s life now? Watching his grandchild take center stage: “I can say lots of thoughts / but I choose to be quiet. / I’d rather you discover things and then try it.” Fallon’s straightforward text is sweetly upbeat, though it occasionally lacks flow, forcing incongruous situations together to fit the rhyme scheme (“I cook and I mow, / and I once flew a plane. // I play newspaper puzzles because it’s good for my brain”). Featuring uncluttered, colorful backgrounds, Ordóñez’s child-friendly digital art at times takes on sepia tones, evoking the sense of looking back at old photos or memories. Though the creators tread familiar ground, the love between Papa and his little one is palpable.
A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9781250393975
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
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