With savvy restraint, Goldfinger presents the magic of just watching three children raptly engaged in play.
A kid who stands out for dressing as a tiger finds he's not as alone as he thought in a gentle story about making new friends.
Toby, a young boy, "liked being a cat more than a boy." Around the house, he plays the part of a frisky cat in a full-body tiger costume. At school, the imaginative play continues as he pounces on leaves, scratches in a sandbox (which, luckily, readers don't see employed as a litter box), and climbs a tree. There, he runs into trouble, remembering that cats can't climb back down. Pete, a young boy in the tree dressed as a monkey, helps out. After Toby and Pete become fast friends, they help a girl named Dottie dress up and join in as a bird named Polly. Author/illustrator Goldfinger's colored-in crayon scenes burst with energy and warmth, and she gets a lot of mileage with expressions that are little more than two dots for eyes and simple, soft lines for faces. (Among their diverse class, Toby, Pete, and Dottie all have light skin.) The costumes look cozy and textured against expansive white backgrounds in compositions that are more sophisticated in the emotional, joyful moments they convey than the sketchy style would at first suggest.
With savvy restraint, Goldfinger presents the magic of just watching three children raptly engaged in play. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-239951-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet notion that falls flat.
A hit song reimagined as a book about parental love.
Featured in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 1, Perri’s “A Thousand Years” deals with the speaker’s fear of romantic love. In picture-book form, it explores a parent’s unwavering love for a child, who grows from an infant into a toddler over the course of the narrative. The caregiver expresses awe when the youngster learns to stand and fear that the child might fall while beginning to walk. “I have spent every day waiting for you,” the parent says. “Darling, don’t be afraid.” What the child might fear isn’t clear from the joyful balloon- and rainbow-filled illustrations. The story borders on cloying, and words that might work when sung and accompanied by music don’t sound fresh on the page: “Time goes by. / You grow ever stronger as you fly.” The refrain, however, is a lovely sentiment: “I have loved you for a thousand years. / I’ll love you for a thousand more.” Perri’s legion of fans may flock to this version, illustrated by Ruiz with sparkling stars, bubbles, and big-eyed toddlers, but it doesn’t hold together as a narrative or an ode, as it’s billed, and it’s a long way from the original song. The child is tan-skinned, the parent is lighter-skinned, and other characters are diverse.
A sweet notion that falls flat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9780593622599
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
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