Throwing shadows, kindling flames: each of the five innocuous short stories included here ends in a sort of character-defining gesture or understanding. In the first Ned, a young shark-tooth collector in Florida, hands over a prize find to an envious, pesty old man. Another boy's mother exhibits similar generosity toward an antique-dealer couple who got her started in the business but resent her superior talent for it. In an old people's home, young Phillip tapes a crusty Hungarian lady's life story, then does both her and the other inmates a good turn by arranging for her to tape the others for the institution's library—but their universal eagerness is simplistically overdone; and when Phillip is tacitly rebuked by one old lady's blue tattoo from Auschwitz, the reference seems merely inappropriate, the story too bland to justify its use. Avery, who complains of being a "catchee"—police keep stopping him for what only seems like thievery or whatever—is reassured by his older brother that the experience will make him "very honest and very brave." And a young Ecuadorean tour guide helps a hustling village boy to learn that the voice of true manhood need not be loud. In the first two stories the shark-tooth collector's mother is said to be from Thailand, though she sounds American if anything, and the "catchee" refers once to his black skin, though his tone again is just homogenized American—so why? All the stories are more rounded and sprinkled with anecdote than what is usually called didactic in children's fiction, yet all the characters—and their stories—are so reduced to those final moments of truth or virtue shining forth that the experience is a mild and managed one.
Pub Date: Aug. 14, 1979
ISBN: 1416949593
Page Count: 182
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1979
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
May this endearing pair have more sneakily educational outings.
The ground is all white and cold, and Squirrel has no idea why.
Awakening to find the grass is gone, Squirrel panics and calls for Bird. Ever patient Bird explains that sometimes it snows in winter, and the grass just gets covered. Bird suggests they play in the snow, but Squirrel says it’s too cold…until Bird introduces Squirrel to snowballs. Suddenly, Squirrel loves snow. Bird also explains that snowflakes are all different shapes. Squirrel’s skeptical. “They’re all small, white blobs.” Then Squirrel yells, “BIRD! There is SMOKE coming out of my mouth! Is it because I ate a snowflake?” Bird notes that sometimes it gets so cold that you can see your breath. A frozen puddle sends Squirrel sliding into a giant snow squirrel. Squirrel’s pretty sure that snow squirrel stole some hazelnuts. Bird explains that’s impossible: “It isn’t real—it’s just a SNOW squirrel.” When the snow melts overnight, Squirrel is convinced the snow squirrel took it all—but at least the hazelnuts are still there (the builder of the snow squirrel had used them for the eyes and mouth). Hemming’s tale, which relies on speech bubbles and text in several different fonts for emphasis (and overreaction), is as funny as the first two in the series, while Slater’s digitally created, colorful illustrations add some slapstick giggles. The book finishes with a double-page spread of snow facts that address Squirrel’s concerns.
May this endearing pair have more sneakily educational outings. (Picture book. 2-7)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9781464226786
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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