A visually arresting, haunting, wordless tale guaranteed to spark wonder
Falling overboard, a fisherman experiences a mysterious underwater encounter with a seal.
Impressionistic illustrations alone tell this bewitching, somewhat bewildering tale. Returning with their catches, fishermen (all evidently white and male) head into a tavern to regale one another with tall tales of pirates, giant fish, and mermaids. At dawn, they set sail once more, and their nets soon fill with fish. When he discovers a gray seal tangled in his net, a fisherman in a green sweater falls overboard trying to release it. Caught in the net himself, the fisherman’s pulled down with the seal into the ocean’s depths, where they engage in aquatic acrobatics, so closely entwined that the fisherman appears to become a green seal. Slowly the gray seal draws the fisherman upward toward the fishing boat, pulling and pushing him until his smiling comrades hoist him aboard as the seal watches them depart. The delicate, indistinct illustrations (appropriately rendered in faint pencil lines washed freely in watercolor hues echoing the blue-green ocean, yellow sunlight, and gray seal) effectively convey the vast underwater stillness. Clever use of full-page and double-page spreads as well as horizontal and vertical panels heightens the silent, dramatic communion taking place between fisherman and seal. From the title, readers may assume the seal’s a selkie, but the absence of text, notes, or visual details combines with the apparent transformation of the fisherman to leave readers uncertain.
A visually arresting, haunting, wordless tale guaranteed to spark wonder . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-76036-054-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Starfish Bay
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.
Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.
The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
Warm but underdone.
In this picture book from actor Gyllenhaal and his partner, Caruso, a child and his uncle bond on a fantastic journey.
Leo, an avid dancer, is dismayed when Uncle Mo visits—he’s in town for a “rubber band convention.” Illustrations show both with wavy brown hair and light tan skin. Not only does Leo think his uncle is rather dull, he’s also leery of Uncle Mo’s many rules. A rather abrupt narrative shift occurs when the pair inexplicably drive into another dimension. Here they encounter Great-Aunt Gloria (who is very tall and presents Black) and Uncle Munkle Carbunkle (who is very short and light-skinned), who guide them through the Secret Society of Aunts & Uncles. Unimpressed with Uncle Mo, Great-Aunt Gloria says he must take a quiz on “Auntieology and Uncleology.” After several wrong answers, Uncle Mo has a final chance at redemption: He must state his nephew’s favorite activity. When Leo springs into action to dance for his clueless uncle, a mishap leaves him mortified and un-bespectacled. Enter Uncle Mo to save the day by using a rubber band to secure Leo’s glasses. While Santat’s energetic illustrations do much to clarify the narrative, they can’t fully make up for the disjointed storytelling—it’s never clear why the two have entered this dimension or why Leo is suddenly so eager to help Uncle Mo. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Warm but underdone. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781250776990
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
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