Gracefully celebrates both a little-known culture and its beloved birds.
The black-necked cranes that return to Kinga’s village in Bhutan each winter inspire the schoolboy to convince his classmates and the local monks to create a festival in their honor.
This imagined re-creation of the origin of the annual Crane Festival in the Phobjika Valley, a modern celebration and occasion for environmental education, makes a nice connection to children anywhere who love the natural world. Kinga and his classmates are excited to see the cranes arriving outside their schoolroom window. Their teacher builds on their enthusiasm by taking them to a sanctuary to learn more about the birds, whose numbers are dwindling. This inspires Kinga to suggest the festival. They ask the monks, who sponsor the community’s sacred dances, to help them compose and perform a dance of their own that emulates the movements of the elegant birds. Cohn weaves numerous details about Bhutanese life and culture into her smoothly told story; Youme adds even more with watercolor images in a naïve style that nicely matches Kinga’s present-tense narration. A three-generational family dinnertime scene is especially appealing. Interspersed are images of Bhutanese prayer flags and crane drawings made by schoolchildren during the author and illustrator’s visit to that country. The story ends with further information, a map, and photographs.
Gracefully celebrates both a little-known culture and its beloved birds. (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-941026-16-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2015
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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