A delightful lesson in the joy of living in the moment.
In this sequel to Max and Marla Are Flying Together (2019), best friends Max and Marla embark on a special summer adventure.
Max, an upbeat white boy, and his owl pal, Marla, plan a trip to Australia to “see all the animals along the way.” After ensuring his camera works perfectly to “capture every moment,” Max packs for their trip. Maneuvering their small plane, Max fails to see pelicans flying next to them because he’s fooling with his camera. (Hands-free laws seem not to apply.) At the boat dock, Max searches the sky with his camera, missing seals behind him. Rowing their boat, Max scans the distant ocean through his camera, missing dolphins leaping right around him. Max is clearly too engrossed in his camera to see the wonders all around, prompting wily Marla to surreptitiously take action. As a result, the two friends experience Australia “with their eyes wide open,” meet new friends, and see “wonders everywhere.” Gently humorous illustrations rendered in black outlines and soft colors chronicle Max and Marla methodically preparing for their trip, soaring high in their small plane wearing goggles and aviator helmets, stalwartly rowing their solitary boat with marine life teeming beneath, and joyously interacting with koala bears and kangaroos from the contrasting perspectives of intimate cameos and dramatic full- and double-page vistas.
A delightful lesson in the joy of living in the moment. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-525-51570-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
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