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LET'S PLAY

Name: LET'S PLAY
Author: Camilla Gryski
ISBN: 1-55074-497-6

TRADITIONAL GAMES OF CHILDHOOD

by Camilla Gryski & illustrated by Dušan Petričić ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1998

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A joyous initiation into the world of old-fashioned fun, for kids whose games are now enjoyed in adult-supervised play-dates, cyberspace, and television. Although it will be odd for adults to see that old favorites such as hide-and-seek, tag, marbles, and hopscotch are passed along in a book instead of on the playground, Gryski (Friendship Bracelets, 1993) does a marvelous job of making such age-old games look at least as fun as Nintendo. Leap frog includes intriguing variations, such as “Keep the Kettle Boiling,” and the jump-rope rhymes will keep even skilled skippers on their toes. She also includes snippets of history, e.g., jacks were called “Astragals” by the Romans and played with sheep’s ankle bones. Petricic’s pictures are boisterous visualizations of Gryski’s ideas: An illustration of the game of Telephone shows a girl whispering a picture of a chicken to her friend; as each child passes the message along, the view of the chicken utterly disintegrates. One of the book’s finer moments is found in the introduction, which encourages children to alter the games: “These games belong to you, too. They are yours to play.” (Nonfiction. 7-10)

Pub Date: April 1, 1998

ISBN: 1-55074-497-6

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Kids Can

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1998

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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RIVER STORY

by Meredith Hooper & illustrated by Bee Willey ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2000

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Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)

Pub Date: June 1, 2000

ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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CELEBRITY CAT
by Meredith Hooper & illustrated by Bee Willey

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GOLD QUEST
by Meredith Hooper & illustrated by Stephen Biesty

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STEPHEN BIESTY’S CASTLES
by Meredith Hooper & illustrated by Stephen Biesty

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THE SINGING ROCK & OTHER BRAND-NEW FAIRY TALES

by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer ; illustrated by Simini Blocker ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 18, 2019

Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock”...

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The theme of persistence (for better or worse) links four tales of magic, trickery, and near disasters.

Lachenmeyer freely borrows familiar folkloric elements, subjecting them to mildly comical twists. In the nearly wordless “Hip Hop Wish,” a frog inadvertently rubs a magic lamp and finds itself saddled with an importunate genie eager to shower it with inappropriate goods and riches. In the title tale, an increasingly annoyed music-hating witch transforms a persistent minstrel into a still-warbling cow, horse, sheep, goat, pig, duck, and rock in succession—then is horrified to catch herself humming a tune. Athesius the sorcerer outwits Warthius, a rival trying to steal his spells via a parrot, by casting silly ones in Ig-pay Atin-lay in the third episode, and in the finale, a painter’s repeated efforts to create a flattering portrait of an ogre king nearly get him thrown into a dungeon…until he suddenly understands what an ogre’s idea of “flattering” might be. The narratives, dialogue, and sound effects leave plenty of elbow room in Blocker’s big, brightly colored panels for the expressive animal and human(ish) figures—most of the latter being light skinned except for the golden genie, the blue ogre, and several people of color in the “Sorcerer’s New Pet.”

Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock” music. (Graphic short stories. 8-10)