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GEMMA AND THE BABY CHICK

Name: GEMMA AND THE BABY CHICK
Author: Antonia Barber
ISBN: 0-590-45479-X

by Antonia Barber & illustrated by Karin Littlewood ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1993

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The author of The Mousehole Cat (1990, ALA Notable) brings unusual drama to a familiar event. When one of Gemma's hens goes ``broody,'' she and her mother put her in a special coop. Three weeks later, seven eggs hatch; the other three are cold, but when Gemma's mother floats them in warm water, one moves, then cheeps. Assuring Gemma that it will hatch by morning, her mother says, ``I'll wake you when the time comes.'' So she does, and Gemma holds the egg in her hand while the gawky chick make its way into the world; then—while it's still dark—the girl carries it to the barn right away, so that the hen will accept it as her own. Standard details, and more, are all here; tenderly, but without sentimentality, Barber depicts the hen's behavior and the humans' with equal insight. Applying watercolors with free strokes against an expansive white ground, Ö la Chinese painting, Littlewood (a British illustrator making her US debut) deftly captures the lively essence of the plump black-and-white hens and Gemma's companionable relationship with her mother. A fresh, imaginatively conceived look at a well-worn subject. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: March 1, 1993

ISBN: 0-590-45479-X

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1993

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THE FROG BRIDE
by Antonia Barber & illustrated by Virginia Lee

- BOOK REVIEW
CATKIN
by Antonia Barber & illustrated by P.J. Lynch

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A DOG NAMED SAM

by Janice Boland & illustrated by G. Brian Karas ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1996

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A book that will make young dog-owners smile in recognition and confirm dogless readers' worst suspicions about the mayhem caused by pets, even winsome ones. Sam, who bears passing resemblance to an affable golden retriever, is praised for fetching the family newspaper, and goes on to fetch every other newspaper on the block. In the next story, only the children love Sam's swimming; he is yelled at by lifeguards and fishermen alike when he splashes through every watering hole he can find. Finally, there is woe to the entire family when Sam is bored and lonely for one long night. Boland has an essential message, captured in both both story and illustrations of this Easy-to-Read: Kids and dogs belong together, especially when it's a fun-loving canine like Sam. An appealing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: April 1, 1996

ISBN: 0-8037-1530-7

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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HOME

by Carson Ellis ; illustrated by Carson Ellis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 24, 2015

Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.

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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)