KISIMI TAIMAIPPAKTUT ANGIRRARIJARANI / ONLY IN MY HOMETOWN

Name: KISIMI TAIMAIPPAKTUT ANGIRRARIJARANI / ONLY IN MY HOMETOWN
Author: Angnakuluk Friesen
ISBN: 978-1-55498-883-9

by Angnakuluk Friesen ; illustrated by Ippiksaut Friesen ; translated by Jean Kusugak ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 5, 2017

Heartwarming and illuminating.

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Life in a snowy northern town, from a child’s perspective and written both in Inuktitut and English

One-story houses in multiple colors sit close together beneath a cloudy blue sky, their roofs covered with snow. A little girl sits on a large metallic tube looking straight ahead. “Sitting on an elephant, always remembering what my mom said.” The next picture pulls back for a wider view; the girl is on an oil drum or water tank. Below her are some nondescript buildings and two children riding bicycles on a quiet rural road. The book’s text is a reflective poem. Stanzas end with the repeated line, “Only in my hometown.” Inside the house, so many children are playing that care needs to be taken to avoid stepping on their toys. Nearby four women share a feast of raw meat, in which the little girl is delighted to partake. Outside, blizzards can last for weeks, covering everything with snow. And then the darkness comes, enveloping the region. The northern lights dance. Everyone can be called family “in my hometown.” The sister collaborators work in harmony. Angnakuluk Friesen’s poetic text is fluid and evocative, and Ippiksaut Friesen’s illustrations, painted with watercolor and acrylic “on elephant poo paper,” then composited digitally, are lovely works of folk art. Inuktitut is rendered both in its own symbology and Romanized.

Heartwarming and illuminating. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-55498-883-9

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Groundwood

Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING

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IF DINOSAURS HAD HAIR

by Dan Marvin ; illustrated by Lesley Vamos ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 11, 2022

A laugh-out-loud, dino-themed farce.

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Ever wonder why there are no dinosaurs?

Marvin and Vamos offer a possible answer with a humorous twist: Dinosaurs had hair. Imagine! If dinosaurs had hair, they must have had hair problems, too, like “parents who brushed it too hard,” “siblings who pulled it,” and “snarls. SO. MANY // SNARLS.” And if dinosaurs had hair, they probably flaunted their impressive styles by “flying with flair,” “galloping with gusto,” and “swimming with sass,” all of which led to gossip, jealousy, and hair drama like the “HAIR // WARFARE!” between Team Hair-o-dactyl and Team Pompadour-o-saurus, complete with Jurassic jeers and computer game–esque illustrations. Readers see a battle of hairstyles, “from pigtails to pixie cuts…// from pageboys to perms.” The winning style? “BIG BANGS!” As a T. rex shows off their hairdo, illustrations show asteroids raining down in the background; the final page shows a lone, feathered dino who has survived—consistent with the theory that dinosaurs evolved into birds. The book’s climax may also provide a teachable moment to distinguish the concept of the Big Bang from theories of extinction. The primary text moves the story forward briskly, but a second layer of sassy and punny speech bubbles also add humor for older readers and adults. Detailed, digitally created illustrations feature vibrant colors, hilarious hairstyles, and dinosaur facial features with lots of attitude and emotions, making this a book that will be read and reread often. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A laugh-out-loud, dino-themed farce. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-250-79256-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S DINOSAURS & PREHISTORIC CREATURES | CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING

- BOOK REVIEW
BUT I DON'T EAT ANTS
by Dan Marvin ; illustrated by Kelly Fry

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THIS IS A SCHOOL

by John Schu ; illustrated by Veronica Miller Jamison ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2022

A full-hearted valentine.

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A soaring panegyric to elementary school as a communal place to learn and grow.

“This is a kid,” Schu begins. “This is a kid in a class. This is a class in a hall….” If that class—possibly second graders, though they could be a year to either side of that—numbers only about a dozen in Jamison’s bright paintings, it makes up for that in diversity, with shiny faces of variously brown or olive complexion well outnumbering paler ones; one child using a wheelchair; and at least two who appear to be Asian. (The adult staff is likewise racially diverse.) The children are individualized in the art, but the author’s narrative is addressed more to an older set of readers as it runs almost entirely to collective nouns and abstract concepts: “We share. We help. / This is a community, growing.” Younger audiences will zero in on the pictures, which depict easily recognizable scenes of both individual and collective learning and play, with adults and classmates always on hand to help out or join in. Signs of conflict are unrealistically absent, but an occasional downcast look does add a bit of nuance to the general air of eager positivity on display. A sad face at an apartment window with a comment that “[s]ometimes something happens, and we can’t all be together” can be interpreted as an oblique reference to pandemic closings, but the central message here is that school is a physical space, not a virtual one, where learning and community happen. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A full-hearted valentine. (Picture book. 5-7)