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SAND IN MY SHOES

Name: SAND IN MY SHOES
Author: Wendy Kesselman
ISBN: 0-7868-0057-7

by Wendy Kesselman & illustrated by Ronald Himler ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 22, 1995

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A rhyming story about the pangs of leaving the beach house at summer's end. A little girl says goodbye to ocean, dunes, shells, gulls, the freshwater pond, boats, buoys, foghorns, and even, in pages reminiscent of Robert McCloskey's classic Time of Wonder (1957), to rainy nights and hurricanes. Back in the city, the shells in her pocket and sand in her shoes remind her that the ocean house is awaiting her return next year. The subtle tones of Himler's watercolor and gouache paintings capture the look of sea and northeastern shore under the diffused, late-season light as well as the smoggy, filmed-over gray of the city. A grouping of this book, the McCloskey, Alison Shaw's recent Until I Saw the Sea (p. 475), Charlotte Zolotow's The Seashore Book (1992), and Burton Albert's Where Does the Trail Lead? (1991) makes a splendid exercise in comparison and contrast: similar settings, varied illustrative media, different literary forms, same intense evocation of a child's affinity for the seashore. (Picture book. 4- 8)

Pub Date: May 22, 1995

ISBN: 0-7868-0057-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Hyperion

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1995

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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A DOG NAMED SAM

by Janice Boland & illustrated by G. Brian Karas ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1996

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A book that will make young dog-owners smile in recognition and confirm dogless readers' worst suspicions about the mayhem caused by pets, even winsome ones. Sam, who bears passing resemblance to an affable golden retriever, is praised for fetching the family newspaper, and goes on to fetch every other newspaper on the block. In the next story, only the children love Sam's swimming; he is yelled at by lifeguards and fishermen alike when he splashes through every watering hole he can find. Finally, there is woe to the entire family when Sam is bored and lonely for one long night. Boland has an essential message, captured in both both story and illustrations of this Easy-to-Read: Kids and dogs belong together, especially when it's a fun-loving canine like Sam. An appealing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: April 1, 1996

ISBN: 0-8037-1530-7

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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BERRY MAGIC

by Teri Sloat & Betty Huffman & illustrated by Teri Sloat ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2004

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Sloat collaborates with Huffman, a Yu’pik storyteller, to infuse a traditional “origins” tale with the joy of creating. Hearing the old women of her village grumble that they have only tasteless crowberries for the fall feast’s akutaq—described as “Eskimo ice cream,” though the recipe at the end includes mixing in shredded fish and lard—young Anana carefully fashions three dolls, then sings and dances them to life. Away they bound, to cover the hills with cranberries, blueberries, and salmonberries. Sloat dresses her smiling figures in mixes of furs and brightly patterned garb, and sends them tumbling exuberantly through grassy tundra scenes as wildlife large and small gathers to look on. Despite obtrusively inserted pronunciations for Yu’pik words in the text, young readers will be captivated by the action, and by Anana’s infectious delight. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)