Meena and her classmates decide to produce a play, and to her dismay, Meena has difficulty focusing. She spills the paints, she stumbles and trips, and when she tells her parents that she really isn’t interested in performing or participating, her father assures her that she’s alright. With the encouragement from her caring, patient parents, teacher and aunt, who introduces her to yoga, Meena plays the role of a tree. She must stand still, and the deep breathing she has learned in yoga calms her down. Painterly acrylic forms convey nuances of Indian culture and Meena’s facial and body contortions as she learns her roles on stage and in yoga class. Krishnaswami aptly conveys the essence and impact of yoga on a child. Youngsters often struggling to keep their little bodies from wriggling, their attention from drifting, will be comforted to know that they are not unique and that something as basic as breathing and yoga incorporated into a kid’s life can be a practical solution. Backmatter includes additional information about yoga and resources for children. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2005
ISBN: 1-58430-237-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2005
This book will fascinate children expanding their horizons and learning about other cultures (or, in the case of Anishinaabe...
An introduction to the Anishinaabe tradition of totem animals.
In the tradition of the Anishinaabe people of Canada, everyone belongs to an animal clan or totem. This totem animal symbolizes the skills that each member of the clan must learn to serve their tribe. In two-page spreads, Métis artist Daniel introduces children to 12 totem animals, such as a moose, a rabbit, a raven, and a crow. One page shows a child wearing a mask representing a totem animal, while on the opposing page, a brief first-person narration explains that totem’s attributes. The playful acrylic-on-canvas illustrations have an earthy, textural feel where the surface shows through the paint. The text is child-friendly, imaginative, and short—really four lines of free verse rather than prose text. At the end of the book, Daniel has included a list of the animals and their meanings, which is helpful, as the meanings of the animals are not always obvious in each little poem. For example, the butterfly, which stands for vulnerability, is described thus: “Sometimes I feel like a butterfly, / delicate and free. / I spread my wings open / and flutter from flower to leaf.”
This book will fascinate children expanding their horizons and learning about other cultures (or, in the case of Anishinaabe kids, their own). (author’s note) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 11, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-55498-750-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Totes adorbs.
A cuddly, squishy pug’s puggy-wuggy diary.
Equipped with both #pugunicorn and #pughotdog outfits, pug Baron von Bubbles (aka Bub) is the kind of dog that always dresses to impress. Bub also makes lots of memorable faces, such as the “Hey, you’re not the boss of me!” expression aimed at Duchess, the snooty pink house cat. Some of Bub’s favorite things include skateboarding, a favorite teddy, and eating peanut butter. Bub also loves Bella, who adopted Bub from a fair—it was “love at first sniff.” Together, Bub and Bella do a lot of arts and crafts. Their latest project: entering Bella’s school’s inventor challenge by making a super-duper awesome rocket. But, when the pesky neighborhood squirrel, Nutz, makes off with Bub’s bear, Bub accidentally ruins their project. How will they win the contest? More importantly, how will Bella ever forgive him? May’s cutesy, full-color cartoon art sets the tone for this pug-tastic romp for the new-to–chapter-books crowd. Emojilike faces accentuate Bub’s already expressive character design. Bub’s infectious first-person narration pushes the silly factor off the charts. In addition to creating the look and feel of a diary, the lined paper helps readers follow the eight-chapter story. Most pages have fewer than five sentences, often broken into smaller sections. Additional text appears in color-coded speech bubbles. Bella presents white.
Totes adorbs. (Fiction. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-53003-2
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
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