by Vern Kousky ; illustrated by Vern Kousky ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 4, 2017
The tale is a familiar one and its plot not without holes, but it’s told with grace.
A misfit bird travels the world to learn her special song…and to find her special place.
Every morning the yellow songbirds sing their lovely song. Their younger sister, the blue songbird, tries to join in, but her song is different. She shares her sadness with her mother, also blue, who tells her she must go and find a song only she can sing. The blue songbird flies away, first encountering a long-necked bird who identifies himself as Crane. Whooping, he advises the songbird to venture beyond the mountains, where the wisest bird lives. The blue songbird soars over peaks and valleys, reaching a dark forest and what looks like a wise old bird; he calls himself Owl. All he says is, “Who?” (albeit with great authority). The little blue bird continues her quest, crossing rivers and valleys, cities and oceans, asking every bird she meets for help. Then, finally, she alights on a golden island with three yellow birds on a branch and…her mother. She’s home! All her experiences make beautiful songs. Kousky’s watercolor illustrations have a delicacy that matches both his prose and his heroine, simply rendered with daubs of light blue onto which are painted a little beak and dots for eyes. The spare backgrounds and the delicacy of the landscapes recall Japanese watercolors.
The tale is a familiar one and its plot not without holes, but it’s told with grace. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7624-6066-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Running Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
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by Tom Percival ; illustrated by Tom Percival ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2018
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance.
A boy with wings learns to be himself and inspires others like him to soar, too.
Norman, a “perfectly normal” boy, never dreamed he might grow wings. Afraid of what his parents might say, he hides his new wings under a big, stuffy coat. Although the coat hides his wings from the world, Norman no longer finds joy in bathtime, playing at the park, swimming, or birthday parties. With the gentle encouragement of his parents, who see his sadness, Norman finds the courage to come out of hiding and soar. Percival (The Magic Looking Glass, 2017, etc.) depicts Norman with light skin and dark hair. Black-and-white illustrations show his father with dark skin and hair and his mother as white. The contrast of black-and-white illustrations with splashes of bright color complements the story’s theme. While Norman tries to be “normal,” the world and people around him look black and gray, but his coat stands out in yellow. Birds pop from the page in pink, green, and blue, emphasizing the joy and beauty of flying free. The final spread, full of bright color and multiracial children in flight, sets the mood for Norman’s realization on the last page that there is “no such thing as perfectly normal,” but he can be “perfectly Norman.”
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-785-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
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by Tom Percival ; illustrated by Tom Percival
by Tom Percival ; illustrated by Tom Percival
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by Sam McBratney ; illustrated by Anita Jeram ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 29, 2020
Readers are likely to love it to the moon and back.
Little Nutbrown Hare ventures out into the wide world and comes back with a new companion in this sequel to Guess How Much I Love You (1994).
Big Nutbrown Hare is too busy, so after asking permission, Little Nutbrown Hare scampers off over the rolling meadow to play by himself. After discovering that neither his shadow nor his reflection make satisfactory playmates (“You’re only another me!”), Little Nutbrown comes to Cloudy Mountain…and meets “Someone real!” It’s a white bunny who introduces herself as Tipps. But a wonderful round of digging and building and chasing about reaches an unexpected end with a game of hide-and-seek, because both hares hide! After waiting a long time to be found, Little Nutbrown Hare hops on home in disappointment, wondering whether he’ll ever see Tipps again. As it turns out, it doesn’t take long to find out, since she has followed him. “Now, where on earth did she come from?” wonders Big Nutbrown. “Her name is Tipps,” Little Nutbrown proudly replies, “and she’s my friend.” Jeram’s spacious, pale-toned, naturalistic outdoor scenes create a properly idyllic setting for this cozy development in a tender child-caregiver relationship—which hasn’t lost a bit of its appealing intimacy in the more than 25 years since its first appearance. As in the first, Big Nutbrown Hare is ungendered, facilitating pleasingly flexible readings.
Readers are likely to love it to the moon and back. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1747-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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