A nameless, pigtailed, sassy child in a pink gossamer skirt wants only one birthday present: a puppy; in the box, however, is not a puppy but a tortoise. “WHO WANTS A TORTOISE?!” The protagonist sure doesn’t, but Daddy is allergic to dogs. What follows is a list of don’ts: tortoises don’t fetch, don’t roll over, don’t lick your face, don’t beg for baloney, and don’t get excited when you come through the door. An abrupt change in attitude occurs once the young tortoise-owner gives her shelled pet a makeover: “I do his nails with Sparkling Raspberry Delight.” When Grammy and Grandpa bring her a tortoise book as a present, she grows even more receptive: an illustration shows the tortoise atop a pink skateboard, nails still pink, and a leash duct-taped to his shell. She brings her tortoise to sharing day at school; her tortoise races and beats snails by a mile. But then he runs away. Signs go up in the neighborhood, and everyone joins the quest to find the coldblooded friend. Campbell’s familiar style is present in soft watercolor and colored pencil. Young readers will notice details such as emotive expressions on humans and pets alike, as well as plenty of dog paraphernalia. The protagonist appears to be biracial, with a white mom and East Asian dad. The endpapers are a collection of sketches and fun facts. A sweet read-aloud for first-time tortoise owners. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: July 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-385-75417-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
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While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child...
Imani endures the insults heaped upon her by the other village children, but she never gives up her dreams.
The Masai girl is tiny compared to the other children, but she is full of imagination and perseverance. Luckily, she has a mother who believes in her and tells her stories that will fuel that imagination. Mama tells her about the moon goddess, Olapa, who wins over the sun god. She tells Imani about Anansi, the trickster spider who vanquishes a larger snake. (Troublingly, the fact that Anansi is a West African figure, not of the Masai, goes unaddressed in both text and author’s note.) Inspired, the tiny girl tries to find new ways to achieve her dream: to touch the moon. One day, after crashing to the ground yet again when her leafy wings fail, she is ready to forget her hopes. That night, she witnesses the adumu, the special warriors’ jumping dance. Imani wakes the next morning, determined to jump to the moon. After jumping all day, she reaches the moon, meets Olapa and receives a special present from the goddess, a small moon rock. Now she becomes the storyteller when she relates her adventure to Mama. The watercolor-and-graphite illustrations have been enhanced digitally, and the night scenes of storytelling and fantasy with their glowing stars and moons have a more powerful impact than the daytime scenes, with their blander colors.
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child to be admired. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-934133-57-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Mackinac Island Press
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back.
With such short arms, how can Tiny T. Rex give a sad friend a hug?
Fleck goes for cute in the simple, minimally detailed illustrations, drawing the diminutive theropod with a chubby turquoise body and little nubs for limbs under a massive, squared-off head. Impelled by the sight of stegosaurian buddy Pointy looking glum, little Tiny sets out to attempt the seemingly impossible, a comforting hug. Having made the rounds seeking advice—the dino’s pea-green dad recommends math; purple, New Age aunt offers cucumber juice (“That is disgusting”); red mom tells him that it’s OK not to be able to hug (“You are tiny, but your heart is big!”), and blue and yellow older sibs suggest practice—Tiny takes up the last as the most immediately useful notion. Unfortunately, the “tree” the little reptile tries to hug turns out to be a pterodactyl’s leg. “Now I am falling,” Tiny notes in the consistently self-referential narrative. “I should not have let go.” Fortunately, Tiny lands on Pointy’s head, and the proclamation that though Rexes’ hugs may be tiny, “I will do my very best because you are my very best friend” proves just the mood-lightening ticket. “Thank you, Tiny. That was the biggest hug ever.” Young audiences always find the “clueless grown-ups” trope a knee-slapper, the overall tone never turns preachy, and Tiny’s instinctive kindness definitely puts him at (gentle) odds with the dinky dino star of Bob Shea’s Dinosaur Vs. series.
Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7033-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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