Dreamy bedtime fare.
A small child takes a magical ride on the “dream weaver train.”
Evocative lyrics from the title song of Wright’s 1975 solo album, The Dream Weaver, form the text of this LyricPop offering. The first-person speaker boards the dream weaver train, asking the driver to “take away my worries of today / and leave tomorrow behind.” Believing the dream weaver will “get me through the night” to “reach the morning light,” the speaker asks the dream weaver to “fly me high through the starry skies / maybe to an astral plane” and “cross the highways of fantasy / …to forget today’s pain.” The repetitive lyrics raise questions about the speaker’s identity and source of pain as well as about the mysterious dream weaver. However, playful collages, using patterns, textures, and color, span the double-page spreads and provide needed child-friendly context. Tucked into bed with a stuffed lion and pet dachshund, the speaker proves to be a brown-skinned child with a teary eye. In the subsequent spread, kid and dachshund eagerly board the purple train driven by the dream weaver, an encouraging lion. As the fantastic train speeds through the dark night and starry skies, the boy forgets the pain (revealed to be physical rather than psychic: caused by a bicycle spill) and enjoys the ride, passing through woods, sliding down an enormous cat-shaped clock, running across the moon’s surface, and riding giant butterflies toward morning’s light. Simultaneously publishing in the series are: The Pixies song Where Is My Mind?, by Black Francis and illustrated by Alex Eben Meyer; Coldplay’s Strawberry Swing, illustrated by Mitch Miller; the Gloria Gaynor hit I Will Survive (starring a platinum-tressed green-skinned ET), by Frederick J. Perren and Dino Fekaris, and illustrated by Kaitlyn Shea O’Connor; and Paul Simon’s The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy), illustrated by Keith Henry Brown.
Dreamy bedtime fare. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-61775-857-7
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Akashic
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2021
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
While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems.
Rhyming poems introduce children to anthropomorphized trucks of all sorts, as well as the jobs that they do.
Adorable multiethnic children are the drivers of these 16 trucks—from construction equipment to city trucks, rescue vehicles and a semi—easily standing in for readers, a point made very clear on the final spread. Varying rhyme schemes and poem lengths help keep readers’ attention. For the most part, the rhymes and rhythms work, as in this, from “Cement Mixer”: “No time to wait; / he can’t sit still. / He has to beg your pardon. / For if he dawdles on the way, / his slushy load will harden.” Slonim’s trucks each sport an expressive pair of eyes, but the anthropomorphism stops there, at least in the pictures—Vestergaard sometimes takes it too far, as in “Bulldozer”: “He’s not a bully, either, / although he’s big and tough. / He waits his turn, plays well with friends, / and pushes just enough.” A few trucks’ jobs get short shrift, to mixed effect: “Skid-Steer Loader” focuses on how this truck moves without the typical steering wheel, but “Semi” runs with a royalty analogy and fails to truly impart any knowledge. The acrylic-and-charcoal artwork, set against white backgrounds, keeps the focus on the trucks and the jobs they are doing.
While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems. (Picture book/poetry. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5078-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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