Embraces “home” as a journey as well as a destination.
A young Taiwanese American girl navigates between one home and another.
Lily is energetic and imaginative and loves to play chase. When Mama announces their move to Taiwan to take care of Ah Ma, Lily’s grandmother, the girl’s world comes crashing down as she begins to process all that she will miss: the fireflies at Parsley Park, her friend Jill. And when they arrive, things are wildly different—the welcome banquet with relatives is nothing like her backyard barbecue, the motor scooter is a far cry from her car, and so on. With humor and empathy, the simple storyline and vivid illustrations convey Lily’s challenges at her new school and her struggles with jet lag, the Chinese language, and socializing. A pivotal moment with Mama opens Lily’s heart; on a page filled with white space, parent and child hug and then Lily moves toward the edge of the page, ready to give her new home a chance. The artwork shows Lily’s perspective broadening as she finds her way and regains her stride, eventually feeling at home in her current environment. The endpapers complement each other, portraying a sunny, palm tree–lined suburban neighborhood in the United States at the front and, on the back, a moonlit street scene in Taiwan. Given the time differences between the two countries, this juxtaposition not only reflects simultaneous realities in different locales, but also underscores the duality of existence familiar to individuals whose identities are rooted in diverse geographies and languages. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Embraces “home” as a journey as well as a destination. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-316-37710-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
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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