With illustrations that suggest a sunny memory, Felicia's story shows the ways that she's part of a continuing cycle, rather...
A young Latina girl has an unexpected encounter while accompanying her mother to work in this bilingual picture book touching on the immigrant experience.
When Felicia arrives by bus with her mother to her housekeeping job at a beautiful gated house with a fountain in front, she's told to behave. Felicia works with her coloring book, but she's restless. "I don't really like the headscarf, nor do I really like being here. / No me gusta el pañuelo que lleva en la cabeza, tampoco me gusta mucho estar aquí," she says. Felicia begins exploring the house, finding a nursery and a set of swings. Rather than get in trouble, Felicia is joined by the homeowner, a white woman who brings lemonade and cookies. Mrs. Fitzpatrick shares with Felicia the story of her own family's journey from Ireland for a better life. "That's what your mom wants for you too. / Eso es lo que tu mamá quere para ti," she tells Felicia. She gives Felicia a bracelet; its charms appear throughout the book, separating and symbolically tying in to the English and Spanish texts. With a deft and subtle touch, author Barbieri, the daughter of Salvadoran and Nicaraguan parents, captures a small but resonant moment. The reaction of Felicia's mother, for example, rings true. She's guarded about the gift at first, an open-ended response that encourages readers to wonder why.
With illustrations that suggest a sunny memory, Felicia's story shows the ways that she's part of a continuing cycle, rather than an outsider, and does it without belaboring the point . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 31, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-55885-827-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Piñata Books/Arte Público
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2016
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
An invitation to wonder, imagine and look at everything (humans included) in a new way.
A young boy sees things a little differently than others.
Noah can see patterns in the dust when it sparkles in the sunlight. And if he puts his nose to the ground, he can smell the “green tang of the ants in the grass.” His most favorite thing of all, however, is to read. Noah has endless curiosity about how and why things work. Books open the door to those answers. But there is one question the books do not explain. When the wind comes whistling by, where does it go? Noah decides to find out. In a chase that has a slight element of danger—wind, after all, is unpredictable—Noah runs down streets, across bridges, near a highway, until the wind lifts him off his feet. Cowman’s gusty wisps show each stream of air turning a different jewel tone, swirling all around. The ribbons gently bring Noah home, setting him down under the same thinking tree where he began. Did it really happen? Worthington’s sensitive exploration leaves readers with their own set of questions and perhaps gratitude for all types of perspective. An author’s note mentions children on the autism spectrum but widens to include all who feel a little different.
An invitation to wonder, imagine and look at everything (humans included) in a new way. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-60554-356-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Redleaf Lane
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
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