Pure fantasy in the best sense.
When the post office announces that children can now be mailed, Dandan is excited to finally visit her father at the South Pole.
On huge, colorful spreads filled with surreal details and bold brush strokes, Dandan embarks on a dreamy journey by affixing winged stamps to her clothing and taking off on the back of a magical blue horse. The Chinese girl with a bowl haircut flies exuberantly over landscapes dotted with whimsical details (such as clothed animals doing jobs and a cage full of colorful birds several times larger than the houses) until she spots trouble. A whale has trapped a ship against an island! Fantastical sea creatures ogle the disaster from below. Discarding stamps like petals, Dandan descends to rescue the boat and its crew but then realizes she has no more stamps for flying. Of course, she finds a very creative solution, and the delightful sight of a little man in his green parka waving from an iceberg will not fail to bring a smile to any reader’s face. Gong’s artwork is a riot of colors and odd juxtapositions and compositions, a cross between Elisa Kleven’s and Maira Kalman’s work. Every page includes charming details scattered across dynamic and bold compositions, especially delightful when paired with Zhu’s absurd plot conveyed through expressive font sizes, shapes, and colors. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11.4-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 60% of actual size.)
Pure fantasy in the best sense. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4788-6853-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Reycraft Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
A humorous tribute to the zany, determined and innovative side of invention.
Young Virena, one of four children, provides inspiration for her aspiring inventor papa’s latest ambitious construction: a submarine.
Fleming bases her tale on the true story of Civil War–era inventor Lodner Phillips, who tried his hand at submarine design on the shores of Lake Michigan. In Fleming’s lively, enthusiastic account, Papa builds three increasingly large and more complicated underwater vehicles, each of which sinks, with Papa emerging cheerfully, if damply, ready for the next round. As Virena muses on the nature of marine life, providing Papa with ideas for improvements, the baby interjects disarmingly funny comments: “No pee pee!” chortles the baby when Virena asks how fish stay dry. The Whitefish IV has room for everyone, and Papa puts his entire family into the contraption—somehow the cheerful presentation keeps readers from worrying about the outcome. Kulikov’s expansive, comical illustrations offer exaggerated perspectives from above and below the deep blue-green water, huge and beautiful fish just under the surface and a loving family for the determined inventor. Blueprints for each version of the mechanical fish are included—a neat glimpse into the invention process—while the peculiarly human expressions on the family bulldog remind readers that this is a fantasy. An author’s note and an extensive list of adult resources give background information about the real Lodner Phillips.
A humorous tribute to the zany, determined and innovative side of invention. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: June 11, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-374-39908-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Margaret Ferguson/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2013
An extraordinary expression of Filipino culture and intergenerational familial bonds.
A child describes the smells, tastes, and feelings of their summer.
“How do I know summer is here?” For the child sharing their story, summer is the smell of stone fruit ripening and days with nothing to do. Summer really begins when their lola comes to visit and makes her special mango jam. Together, grandmother and grandchild play at the pool, go to the beach, and watch fireworks. Lola fills their days with the delicious smells and tastes of traditional Filipino food, like cassava cake and sisig. Summer blooms with happy memories of gathering fruit, fishing, cooking, and eating together. When Lola returns home, summer turns to chilly breezes and falling leaves, but Lola has one more surprise. This is a beautiful, tender expression of family and love that spans generations and great distances. Each moment is described as a smell or taste, which engages all of readers’ senses. The illustrations add so much life and context to the words, especially for the Filipino dishes. The bright colors and visible brush strokes add warmth and capture the feelings of summer. The family is Filipino, and all have brown skin, black hair, and black eyes. Lola speaks Tagalog and Ilocano.
An extraordinary expression of Filipino culture and intergenerational familial bonds. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-297285-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
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