by Zilpha Keatley Snyder ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 20, 1968
A boy who dreams of having a luxury department store at his disposal discovers that the dream is more real than the store; a boy who resents his father's fondness for lame ducks and casual living decides that rebellion is "a doorway and not a destination": one boy, two variously likely stories, a dubious connection. Alcott-Simpson's is fourteen-year-old Dion's separate world; when strange things begin happening—a pet shop lizard in the dressing room, a toy galleon in the goldfish pool, a young girl who appears and disappears wearing "borrowed" finery—his curiosity takes him to Madame Stregovitch, in Cosmetics, who warns him not to ask too many questions. Why is somehow related to the girl. Sara—she haunts the store with "the others" and soon, half-child and half-woman, haunts him. Then there's the apartment he shares with his father and the college boys from upstairs and the children from downstairs and Dad's music students—all of them owe Dad money, and meals are mostly communal spaghetti, and some day Dion will leave it all for a job at Alcott-Simpson's. Except that the store, deserted by its frightened staff, closes....Sara is Rima in Courregos boots and Madame Stregovitch is a benevolent Rasputin—it was she who, by her psychic powers, summoned Sara and the other spirits of starving children to share the largesse; but Alton's Simpson's is just right and so is the sparring between Dion and his Dad. Probably this will get across to girls more readily than to boys because they want to believe; underneath there is something to believe in.
Pub Date: March 20, 1968
ISBN: 0440400600
Page Count: 180
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1968
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by Kobi Yamada ; illustrated by Gabriella Barouch ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 15, 2019
More gift book than storybook, this is a meaningful addition to nursery bookshelves
A young child explores the unlimited potential inherent in all humans.
“Have you ever wondered why you are here?” asks the second-person narration. There is no one like you. Maybe you’re here to make a difference with your uniqueness; maybe you will speak for those who can’t or use your gifts to shine a light into the darkness. The no-frills, unrhymed narrative encourages readers to follow their hearts and tap into their limitless potential to be anything and do anything. The precisely inked and colored artwork plays with perspective from the first double-page spread, in which the child contemplates a mountain (or maybe an iceberg) in their hands. Later, they stand on a ladder to place white spots on tall, red mushrooms. The oversized flora and fauna seem to symbolize the presumptively insurmountable, reinforcing the book’s message that anything is possible. This quiet read, with its sophisticated central question, encourages children to reach for their untapped potential while reminding them it won’t be easy—they will make messes and mistakes—but the magic within can help overcome falls and failures. It’s unlikely that members of the intended audience have begun to wonder about their life’s purpose, but this life-affirming mood piece has honorable intentions. The child, accompanied by an adorable piglet and sporting overalls and a bird-beaked cap made of leaves, presents white.
More gift book than storybook, this is a meaningful addition to nursery bookshelves . (Picture book. 2-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-946873-75-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: May 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
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by Kobi Yamada ; illustrated by Adelina Lirius
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by Kobi Yamada ; illustrated by Charles Santoso
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by Kobi Yamada ; illustrated by Elise Hurst
by Carson Ellis ; illustrated by Carson Ellis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 24, 2015
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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by Randall de Sève ; illustrated by Carson Ellis
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by Mac Barnett ; illustrated by Carson Ellis
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by Carson Ellis ; illustrated by Carson Ellis
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