A wonderful picture book about creativity and collaboration.
When Bob and Nancy begin to explore their artistic talents, they are children, born, respectively, in 1914 and 1928.
They will grow up to become Robert McCloskey, two-time Caldecott winner, including one for Make Way for Ducklings (1941), and Nancy Schön, sculptor of the famous ducklings, inspired by the picture book, in the Boston Public Garden, installed in 1987. The trajectories of these two and their eventual friendship (after many years of struggle to be recognized as an artist, Nancy would also create works based on other McCloskey characters) are chronicled in a lively and loving manner that will excite children and adults alike. The digital illustrations, like crayon sketches that evoke an earlier era, push the story forward in a rush of humorous elements that emphasize the unusual devotion of these two people to their art. While creating the book, Bob buys live ducks to study in his New York City apartment. Years later, Nancy purchases “a duck’s foot from the butcher to study the way its joints move.” Nancy worries about whether Bob will allow her to use his work as the basis for her sculpture, but when a friend brings them together, the established book creator warms to the idea and becomes genuinely excited when he sees children react to Nancy’s models. Most characters present White, though a few children of color appear. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A wonderful picture book about creativity and collaboration. (author’s note with photos, timeline, selected bibliography) (Informational picture book. 7-11)Pub Date: April 11, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-37335-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House Studio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere.
This book is buzzing with trivia.
Follow a swarm of bees as they leave a beekeeper’s apiary in search of a new home. As the scout bees traverse the fields, readers are provided with a potpourri of facts and statements about bees. The information is scattered—much like the scout bees—and as a result, both the nominal plot and informational content are tissue-thin. There are some interesting facts throughout the book, but many pieces of trivia are too, well trivial, to prove useful. For example, as the bees travel, readers learn that “onion flowers are round and fluffy” and “fennel is a plant that is used in cooking.” Other facts are oversimplified and as a result are not accurate. For example, monofloral honey is defined as “made by bees who visit just one kind of flower” with no acknowledgment of the fact that bees may range widely, and swarm activity is described as a springtime event, when it can also occur in summer and early fall. The information in the book, such as species identification and measurement units, is directed toward British readers. The flat, thin-lined artwork does little to enhance the story, but an “I spy” game challenging readers to find a specific bee throughout is amusing.
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere. (Informational picture book. 8-10)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-500-65265-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A pivotal moment in a child’s life, at once stirring and authentically personal.
Before growing up to become a major figure in the civil rights movement, a boy finds a role model.
Buffing up a childhood tale told by her renowned father, Young Shelton describes how young Andrew saw scary men marching in his New Orleans neighborhood (“It sounded like they were yelling ‘Hi, Hitler!’ ”). In response to his questions, his father took him to see a newsreel of Jesse Owens (“a runner who looked like me”) triumphing in the 1936 Olympics. “Racism is a sickness,” his father tells him. “We’ve got to help folks like that.” How? “Well, you can start by just being the best person you can be,” his father replies. “It’s what you do that counts.” In James’ hazy chalk pastels, Andrew joins racially diverse playmates (including a White child with an Irish accent proudly displaying the nickel he got from his aunt as a bribe to stop playing with “those Colored boys”) in tag and other games, playing catch with his dad, sitting in the midst of a cheering crowd in the local theater’s segregated balcony, and finally visualizing himself pelting down a track alongside his new hero—“head up, back straight, eyes focused,” as a thematically repeated line has it, on the finish line. An afterword by Young Shelton explains that she retold this story, told to her many times growing up, drawing from conversations with Young and from her own research; family photos are also included. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A pivotal moment in a child’s life, at once stirring and authentically personal. (illustrator’s note) (Autobiographical picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-545-55465-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
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