Make way for a wonderful tale about the creation of a classic children’s book.
Making a picture book isn’t all it’s quacked up to be.
First published in 1941, Make Way for Ducklings is still a popular book for children thanks to its perfectly paced plot and lighthearted illustrations. But fans of the book may not know how it came into being. Smith and Stadtlander reconstruct how Robert McCloskey wrote and illustrated the story, meticulously rearranging words until the text was perfect and agonizing over how ducks would behave in the story. While the former took time, for the latter, the author/illustrator needed inspiration, which came in the form of two groups of ducks (adults and ducklings) living for a time in his shared studio apartment. The gouache and colored pencil illustrations are a far cry from McCloskey’s style but capture both the quiet moments of work and the hectic life of multiple ducks living in a New York apartment. For readers looking for more, the backmatter includes a note from McCloskey’s daughter, an author’s note, information about McCloskey and his editor May Massee, a bibliography, a timeline, a list of McCloskey’s works, and small reproductions of sketches and family photos. Without doubt, this will be a favorite for both older and younger generations alike! Background characters are diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Make way for a wonderful tale about the creation of a classic children’s book. (picture credits) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-63592-392-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Calkins Creek/Astra Books for Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era.
The New Orleans school child who famously broke the color line in 1960 while surrounded by federal marshals describes the early days of her experience from a 6-year-old’s perspective.
Bridges told her tale to younger children in 2009’s Ruby Bridges Goes to School, but here the sensibility is more personal, and the sometimes-shocking historical photos have been replaced by uplifting painted scenes. “I didn’t find out what being ‘the first’ really meant until the day I arrived at this new school,” she writes. Unfrightened by the crowd of “screaming white people” that greets her at the school’s door (she thinks it’s like Mardi Gras) but surprised to find herself the only child in her classroom, and even the entire building, she gradually realizes the significance of her act as (in Smith’s illustration) she compares a small personal photo to the all-White class photos posted on a bulletin board and sees the difference. As she reflects on her new understanding, symbolic scenes first depict other dark-skinned children marching into classes in her wake to friendly greetings from lighter-skinned classmates (“School is just school,” she sensibly concludes, “and kids are just kids”) and finally an image of the bright-eyed icon posed next to a soaring bridge of reconciliation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era. (author and illustrator notes, glossary) (Autobiographical picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-75388-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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