Can you love another update? We think you will, we think you will, we think you will….
Thinking it can for its 90th year, an old friend receives a shiny new update.
Fifteen years after Loren Long’s 75th-anniversary interpretation, Caldecott winner Santat tries his hand at this work of classic children’s literature. Once more a train filled with toys and goodies for all those “good little boys and girls on the other side of the mountain” can only be saved by the smallest, most determined engine of them all. As no part of the text has been changed (the “jackknives” for children remain intact in the train’s inventory), Santat’s challenge is to bring the engine into the 21st century visually. Now the “funny little clown” is actually small instead of adult-sized, and one of the dolls depicted has brown skin and straight, dark hair (the other is white with Shirley Temple ringlets). In Santat’s version, when the Little Blue Engine pulls away from the engine that broke down, one of the toys waves goodbye, and it looks on in relief. Some scenes directly reference the earlier editions, such as a shot of the Little Blue Engine pulling over a bridge as animals run alongside. Kids will enjoy small details, like the toy plane that appears in almost every spread. Adults will enjoy the generous format and Santat’s lovingly rendered landscapes. Notes from Dolly Parton and Santat bookend the story.
Can you love another update? We think you will, we think you will, we think you will…. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09439-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
The lack of real excitement will make these helpers fade from memory like sirens on a distant road.
Part emergency adventure, part reassurance that help is on the way—youngsters fascinated by vehicles with sirens will be attracted to this board book.
Straightforward, declarative text and fanciful, somewhat futuristic pictures describe “a big beautiful world, filled with awesome adventures.” The second spread previews the helpers and their vehicles with profile views of six types of vehicles against a clean white background. The final spread shows front views of the same six rescue vehicles. In between, spreads focus on three different emergencies. In a busy spread headlined “Uh-oh, an accident,” readers see a police car, an ambulance, and a tow truck, while a police helicopter hovers overhead. “Uh-oh, a storm!” shows the water-based versions of emergency vehicles against a rain-gray background. “Uh-oh, a fire!” focuses on firefighters, with police and EMTs playing supporting roles. All the vehicles are staffed by smiling animal characters reminiscent of Richard Scarry’s Busytown creatures but without the whimsy of those classics. The final text proclaims that “helpers…are the ones who save the world.” The wordy text and detailed pictures make this board book most suited for older toddlers intrigued by emergency vehicles, but the placid delivery is out of sync with the notion that the depicted world is in peril.
The lack of real excitement will make these helpers fade from memory like sirens on a distant road. (Board book. 3-4)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-0599-8
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A timely message in the wrong format.
This book delivers a message on the power of collective action.
As the book opens, a child looks at a lone star shining in the sky: “One star shines as distant light.” After the turn of the page, the child now sees what looks like the Milky Way: “And when stars shine together, they make our galaxy.” The book goes on to give a number of similar examples to reinforce the message of the power that comes from working together, ending with: “One of us can speak up for justice / And when we speak up together we create a world of possibility.” In the current atmosphere of strife and discord that divides our country, this is certainly a welcome message. Perhaps, though, the board-book set is not the right audience. As a picture book aimed at a slightly older group with an information page at the end explaining some of the illustrations, it might work well. As it is, however, some of the visual references will merely puzzle a toddler—and some adults. For example, a group of angry-looking people raising their fists and singing together may not look like “harmony” to a toddler—unless they know about the New Zealand haka. There is an unexplained frog motif that runs through the book that may also mystify readers. Nagara’s brilliant illustrations portray people of many ethnic backgrounds.
A timely message in the wrong format. (Board book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64421-084-0
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Triangle Square Books for Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
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