A story with a clear-cut message about the importance of cultivating compassion.
A crowing rooster and a wise elder teach some youngsters a lesson in this illustrated children’s book.
In a village called Jata in Kenya, a proud rooster named Kelele (the Swahili word for “noise”) rouses the residents with “ear-splitting” crowing each morning. The bird is owned by elderly Mzee Hekima, a widower who’s still mourning his late wife and finds Kelele’s presence a comfort. One morning, he discovers that rooster injured and bleeding—and he suspects it to be the work of “five unruly boys” who already regularly disturb his peace by knocking on his door and running away. Mzee confronts the group, and although the author’s invitation to readers to show empathy is unsubtle, it’s still resonant. Mzee, as a voice of authority, drives home the point by asking the boys to imagine the pain that they, or their own pets, would feel if they were on the receiving end of cruelty, and he says that losing his dear friend Kelele would hurt him “tremendously...because he is my companion.” (He also notes that although the rooster’s crowing may be annoying, it performs a vital function in the community.) The descriptive prose and colorful illustrations capture the diverse flavor of a setting that will be unfamiliar to many American readers. The book ends with facts about Kenya; a glossary of Swahili words, such as utu, which means “humanity or humaneness” in English; and an illustrated utu badge “for each one of you [readers] who strives to care or be kind to another.” However, there are a few distracting errors in the main text (flinged instead of flung; clobbed instead of clubbed).
A story with a clear-cut message about the importance of cultivating compassion.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
More trampling in the vineyards of the Literary Classics section, with results that will tickle fancies high and low.
Recasting Dog Man and his feline ward, Li’l Petey, as costumed superheroes, Pilkey looks East of Eden in this follow-up to Tale of Two Kitties (2017).
The Steinbeck novel’s Cain/Abel motif gets some play here, as Petey, “world’s evilest cat” and cloned Li’l Petey’s original, tries assiduously to tempt his angelic counterpart over to the dark side only to be met, ultimately at least, by Li’l Petey’s “Thou mayest.” (There are also occasional direct quotes from the novel.) But inner struggles between good and evil assume distinctly subordinate roles to riotous outer ones, as Petey repurposes robots built for a movie about the exploits of Dog Man—“the thinking man’s Rin Tin Tin”—while leading a general rush to the studio’s costume department for appropriate good guy/bad guy outfits in preparation for the climactic battle. During said battle and along the way Pilkey tucks in multiple Flip-O-Rama inserts as well as general gags. He lists no fewer than nine ways to ask “who cut the cheese?” and includes both punny chapter titles (“The Bark Knight Rises”) and nods to Hamiltonand Mary Poppins. The cartoon art, neatly and brightly colored by Garibaldi, is both as easy to read as the snappy dialogue and properly endowed with outsized sound effects, figures displaying a range of skin colors, and glimpses of underwear (even on robots).
More trampling in the vineyards of the Literary Classics section, with results that will tickle fancies high and low. (drawing instructions) (Graphic fantasy. 7-10)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-93518-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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