An exquisite volume of most interest to students of art, church libraries, or large libraries with extensive art collections.
This striking version of the Nativity story is illustrated with reproductions of fresco paintings by the Italian renaissance artist Giotto.
The frescoes were painted in Padua, Italy, in about 1305 and are considered to be Giotto’s masterwork and among the greatest masterpieces of the Early Renaissance. These frescoes tell the story of Mary and Jesus, and portions have been reproduced for this book. They illustrate the familiar story, beginning with the appearance of the angel Gabriel to Mary, continuing through the birth of Jesus, and ending with the flight of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus into Egypt. The illustrations are exquisite from an artistic viewpoint, with finely detailed faces surrounded by golden haloes. The illustrations are set on one page each double-page spread, with the text set opposite in an attractive typeface on ivory paper with a decorative border above. The lyrical text is based on the four Gospels of the New Testament. There are no notes in the book about the sources or development of the text, and there are only a few sentences about Giotto, which is a shame, as further, specific information about the frescoes would have extended the use of the book in library collections.
An exquisite volume of most interest to students of art, church libraries, or large libraries with extensive art collections. (Picture book/religion. 9 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-988-8240-46-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
Reads like a grown-up’s over-the-top effort to peddle a set of kid-friendly premises—a notion that worked for the author’s...
A boy asks Santa for a dinosaur and gets a life-changing experience.
Cribbing freely from any number of classic Christmas stories and films, musician/vlogger Fletcher places his 10-year-old protagonist, William, who uses a wheelchair, at the head of an all-white human cast that features his widowed dad, a girl bully, and a maniacal hunter—plus a dinosaur newly hatched from an egg discovered in the North Pole’s ice by Santa’s elves. Having stowed away on Santa’s sleigh, Christmasaurus meets and bonds with William on Christmas Eve, then, fueled by the power of a child’s belief, flies the lad to the North Pole (“It’s somewhere between Imagination and Make-Believe”) for a meeting with the jolly toymaker himself. Upon his return William gets to see the hunter (who turns out to be his uncle) gun down his dad (who survives), blast a plush dinosaur toy to bits, and then with a poster-sized “CRUNCH! GULP!” go down Christmasaurus’ hatch. In the meantime (emphasis on “mean”), after William spots his previously vicious tormenter, Brenda Payne, crying in the bushes, he forgives trespasses that in real life would have had her arrested and confined long ago. Seemingly just for laffs, the author tosses in doggerel-speaking elves (“ ‘If it’s a girl, can we call her Ginny?’ / ‘I think it’s a boy! Look, he’s got a thingy!’ ”) and closes with further lyrics and a list of 10 (secular) things to love about Christmas. Devries adds sugary illustrations or spot art to nearly every spread.
Reads like a grown-up’s over-the-top effort to peddle a set of kid-friendly premises—a notion that worked for the author’s The Dinosaur That Pooped a Planet (2017), but not here. (Fantasy. 9-11)Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5247-7330-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A tender, honest, and beautifully written story about family, faith, and friendship.
Louisa Emerson copes with the sadness and stress of her alcoholic dad, remarried mom, new stepdad, and a move to the suburbs.
Fifth grader Lou loves her small apartment in San Francisco; her mom; her 15-year-old sister, Casey; her BFF, Beth; sad books; and, despite the pain and uncertainty he causes, her usually drunk dad. Lou’s life is being uprooted, however, because Mom is marrying oversolicitous Steve, a man from church who proposed after only three dates. Since Steve lives in his large childhood home in Pacifica—and Lou’s family is barely getting by financially in the city—they are moving in with Steve, and only Mom and Steve seem happy about that. On her 11th birthday, Lou anonymously receives a guitar that she believes is from her dad. After the Emerson girls move, Lou befriends Marcus and Shannon, a charming couple with three young kids who live on Steve’s block. They quickly become the sisters’ trusted adults, and Marcus gives Lou guitar lessons. In her middle-grade debut, noted YA author Zarr writes exactly the sort of kid Lou herself favors: one that thoughtfully tackles tough issues like substance abuse, parental abandonment, the difficulties of change, and blended families. The story also features church and Christian themes in a refreshingly positive and affirming way. Lou’s family is White; supporting characters include Chinese American Beth and Filipino American Marcus.
A tender, honest, and beautifully written story about family, faith, and friendship. (Fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: March 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-304492-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 29, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
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