An elegant retelling of a timeless story of humility and conservation.
In this picture book based on an ancient Buddhist tale and translated from Chinese, a magical deer shows humans the power of compassion and integrity.
In this tale set long ago, deep within a secret forest in the Kunlun Hills—a mountain range from Chinese mythology—there lives a deer with snow-white antlers and fur of many colors. The Nine Color Deer, as she is known, has awesome powers and acts as a guardian spirit to keep the country flourishing. One day, an act of kindness on behalf of the deer is repaid with a broken promise. After agreeing never to reveal the deer’s home, a young man helps the king bring an army to capture the creature. Arrogance and greed drive the efforts of humans in their quest, a contrast to the honorable, benevolent deer, who ultimately teaches the people respect for the natural world. The moralistic tone of the book reflects its roots as a Mugao Cave mural painting inspired by an Indian Buddhist Jataka story. The illustrations mimic the texture of cave paintings, bringing visual interest and reinforcing the connection to the source material. Artistic choices like the king’s larger-than-life appearance in several spreads and an ethereal palette of tranquil greens and pale earth tones make this adaptation distinct and aesthetically pleasing. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An elegant retelling of a timeless story of humility and conservation. (translator’s note) (Picture book/folktale. 5-9)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-64614-178-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Levine Querido
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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This story covers the few days preceding the much-anticipated Midnight Zombie Walk, when Stink and company will take to the...
An all-zombie-all-the-time zombiefest, featuring a bunch of grade-school kids, including protagonist Stink and his happy comrades.
This story covers the few days preceding the much-anticipated Midnight Zombie Walk, when Stink and company will take to the streets in the time-honored stiff-armed, stiff-legged fashion. McDonald signals her intent on page one: “Stink and Webster were playing Attack of the Knitting Needle Zombies when Fred Zombie’s eye fell off and rolled across the floor.” The farce is as broad as the Atlantic, with enough spookiness just below the surface to provide the all-important shivers. Accompanied by Reynolds’ drawings—dozens of scene-setting gems with good, creepy living dead—McDonald shapes chapters around zombie motifs: making zombie costumes, eating zombie fare at school, reading zombie books each other to reach the one-million-minutes-of-reading challenge. When the zombie walk happens, it delivers solid zombie awfulness. McDonald’s feel-good tone is deeply encouraging for readers to get up and do this for themselves because it looks like so much darned fun, while the sub-message—that reading grows “strong hearts and minds,” as well as teeth and bones—is enough of a vital interest to the story line to be taken at face value.Pub Date: March 13, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5692-8
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2012
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