A tall tale that doesn’t quite measure up.
A town of prospering Black folks magically uproots itself.
When Rootilla Redgums, who claims to be nearly 100 years old, moves to Walkerton, Georgia, with her 9-year-old, old soul of a grandson, Julius Jefferson, her wizened appearance and powerful aura cause a stir among the townspeople. They aren’t quite sure what to make of the odd pair, but Rootilla soon wins them over. She teaches them to make homemade goods that draw White buyers from the surrounding towns, and Walkerton, once full of misery, begins to thrive. Rootilla’s handiworks possess unique powers—they are carpets that never wear down, jugs that never empty, and walking sticks “that somehow never got you lost in the woods.” Convinced that Walkerton’s Black residents are practicing witchcraft, a mob of White people attack but are no match for Rootilla’s magic. At her behest, the town—which Julius renames Carrimebac—is literally carried away, leaving only a lake to mark where Walkerton once stood. Each page turn brings fresh delights via the engaging acrylic paintings that create drama through the use of various perspectives. On some spreads, characters look directly at the viewer, as if inviting interaction. While the premise is compelling, the narrative is not cohesive; some character connections are confusing, and the use of the euphemism “Fearful Folks” to refer to white-hooded, torch-bearing figures emphasizes their unfounded fears of Black folks instead of the terror they inflict because of their hate.
A tall tale that doesn’t quite measure up. (Picture book/folktale. 6-9)Pub Date: March 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1369-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
A close encounter of the best kind.
Left behind when the space bus departs, a child discovers that the moon isn’t as lifeless as it looks.
While the rest of the space-suited class follows the teacher like ducklings, one laggard carrying crayons and a sketchbook sits down to draw our home planet floating overhead, falls asleep, and wakes to see the bus zooming off. The bright yellow bus, the gaggle of playful field-trippers, and even the dull gray boulders strewn over the equally dull gray lunar surface have a rounded solidity suggestive of Plasticine models in Hare’s wordless but cinematic scenes…as do the rubbery, one-eyed, dull gray creatures (think: those stress-busting dolls with ears that pop out when squeezed) that emerge from the regolith. The mutual shock lasts but a moment before the lunarians eagerly grab the proffered crayons to brighten the bland gray setting with silly designs. The creatures dive into the dust when the bus swoops back down but pop up to exchange goodbye waves with the errant child, who turns out to be an olive-skinned kid with a mop of brown hair last seen drawing one of their new friends with the one crayon—gray, of course—left in the box. Body language is expressive enough in this debut outing to make a verbal narrative superfluous.
A close encounter of the best kind. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4253-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Margaret Ferguson/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
Innocuous adventuring on the smallest of scales.
The Mouse and the Motorcycle (1965) upgrades to The Mice and the Rolls-Royce.
In Windsor Castle there sits a “dollhouse like no other,” replete with working plumbing, electricity, and even a full library of real, tiny books. Called Queen Mary’s Dollhouse, it also plays host to the Whiskers family, a clan of mice that has maintained the house for generations. Henry Whiskers and his cousin Jeremy get up to the usual high jinks young mice get up to, but when Henry’s little sister Isabel goes missing at the same time that the humans decide to clean the house up, the usually bookish big brother goes on the adventure of his life. Now Henry is driving cars, avoiding cats, escaping rats, and all before the upcoming mouse Masquerade. Like an extended version of Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Two Bad Mice (1904), Priebe keeps this short chapter book constantly moving, with Duncan’s peppy art a cute capper. Oddly, the dollhouse itself plays only the smallest of roles in this story, and no factual information on the real Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House is included at the tale’s end (an opportunity lost).
Innocuous adventuring on the smallest of scales. (Fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-6575-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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