A good discussion starter on empathy.
A homesick young immigrant collects colorful scraps in an effort to re-create the colors of the home she has left behind.
A muted double-page spread in shades of gray introduces the story, the only touch of color coming from the violet bands holding the braids of a lonely girl on the school playground. From the narrator—another child in the school—readers learn her name is Violet and she is new. They walk home the same way every day, and a quiet, tentative friendship develops between the two. On the walks, Violet picks up colorful cookie wrappers, bits of paper, bottle caps, and leaves, all disappearing into her backpack. When finally asked the purpose of her collection, Violet extends an invitation to her home and reveals a bedroom exploding with lush colors. Every piece of paper, every leaf, has found a place in the vast collage that encompasses all of her room, depicting the sky, beach, palm trees, and village the homesick child misses so much. “I miss the sounds and smells. And I miss the colors.” Where she comes from is not stated, but Violet is Black and is perhaps from the Caribbean or from an African country. Violet having finally confided in someone, readers will see that not just her room, but even the outside is now colorful, and both children are smiling. (Violet’s new friend is also now revealed to have beige skin and straight, dark hair.) Sometimes, that’s all it takes: one person to show interest in a lonely child. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 28.8% of actual size.)
A good discussion starter on empathy. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 15, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5341-1105-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.
Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.
The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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