A quiet story to read over and over.
Just what the title promises: an avian slice-of-life picture book.
In this gently quirky Swedish import, readers get a glimpse into the mind of young Lena as the little bird spends a day with baby brother Bo and their parents. Together, Lena and Bo play chicken: standing in the path of an oncoming car and flying off at the last minute, a dangerous game that meets with their parents’ disapproval when they come home for lunch. After washing their beaks, they nosh on flies—much to Papa’s chagrin. When he complains, Mama says, “You cook then.” The “bird day” progresses without big dramas but with plenty of small moments to inspire laughter and reflection. Watercolor illustrations do much of the narrative heavy lifting, zooming in and out to provide visual interest. Most spreads offer a close-up perspective of the birds’ world, but these scenes are punctuated by others depicting the sibling chicks as barely more than specks against the page. For example, when Lena and Bo play at fainting, they deliberately fall from a branch, and the accompanying art is dominated by two large trees, with two miniscule figures falling against the white of the page. Lena narrates, “Just as we’re about to hit the ground, we fly up again. We do it over and over.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A quiet story to read over and over. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781776575275
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Gecko Press
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2023
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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