Old World storytelling in a sparkling, novel setting—a delight.
A polar bear, a brave boy and an early-20th-century shipwreck play equal roles in this Hanukkah story filled with its own set of miracles.
Simon’s mother lovingly packs food for his voyage to America, including key elements so he can observe Hanukkah: “A little menorah, a box of candles, matches, a dreidel, and plenty of latkes.” The ship, badly damaged after hitting a giant iceberg, begins to sink. Simon generously gives up his spot on a lifeboat to a bearded man in a fur coat desperate to reach his son in New York. Alone, Simon leaps from the ship’s bow onto the iceberg and wonders if on this first night of Hanukkah a miracle might happen to save his life. Soon after, a polar bear climbs the iceberg. Though fearful, Simon shares food and lights the menorah—then sleeps cozily in the warmth of the bear’s fur. This sharing continues for a miraculous seven days until a passing ship’s crew rescues Simon on the last night of Hanukkah. As in the newly revised Hanukkah Bear, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka (2013), Kimmel effectively uses the large, furry beast to blend themes of miracles, faith and an innocent’s altruism. Trueman’s illustrations, a combination of collage, crushed paper cutouts and acrylics in icy blue tones, create glittery scenes of a desolate ocean offset by warm yellow glows from the menorah candles. His bear is particularly charming.
Old World storytelling in a sparkling, novel setting—a delight. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-4355-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
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