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CHIP

Name: CHIP
Author: Federico Gastaldi
ISBN: 9780316381840

by Federico Gastaldi ; illustrated by Federico Gastaldi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 17, 2023

Perfectly captures a child’s response to death with respect, sensitivity, and reassuring humor.

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A witty, comforting paean to a beloved lost fish.

A young boy named Atticus wakes to find that his goldfish, Chip, is no longer in his bowl. Where has he gone? Atticus’ mother points skyward and explains, “Chip lives up there now.” Atticus’ father says that Chip has “moved on.” Atticus’ favorite uncle says, “Chip is in a better place.” Whimsical, appealing, and gently humorous artwork dominated by blues and oranges shows Atticus’ confusion as he tries to make sense of these vague explanations. He imagines Chip attached to a balloon, suspended in the sky (along with his grandmother, also apparently deceased). He thinks of Chip swimming through the ocean alongside a whale, and he wonders if an amusement park would be a better place for Chip. Atticus’ mom suggests getting a new fish, but Atticus needs time to remember all that he and Chip have experienced together. Gastaldi is like a magician; both the text and illustrations retain a light touch as the child deals with his loss. The author/illustrator clearly takes Atticus’ feelings seriously, however, and he shows how treasured memories may help children cope with loss. “Chip was gone. But Atticus remembered. He would always remember.” Atticus and his family are brown-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Perfectly captures a child’s response to death with respect, sensitivity, and reassuring humor. (online resources, recommended reading) (Picture book. 3-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2023

ISBN: 9780316381840

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books

Review Posted Online: July 26, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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LOVE FROM THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR

by Eric Carle ; illustrated by Eric Carle ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 15, 2015

Safe to creep on by.

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Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.

In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.

Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)