A charming journey rich with Chinese folktales and imagery.
A sense of longing ignites a young Chinese girl’s fantastical journey.
Lili and her family, who live in a village by the sea, have finished observing the Lantern Festival, the last day of the Lunar New Year festivities, marked by riddles, food, and, of course, lanterns. Lili is exhausted. Yet the absence of her grandmother Lăolao (perhaps deceased, though this is never explicitly stated) lingers in her mind as she falls asleep. In her dream, brought to life by charmingly textured illustrations against a blue backdrop, she walks through her backyard to a stream, where a boat (with eyes and a mouth) is waiting for her. “Can you take me to my lăolao?” Lili asks. Although the boat doesn’t know where Lăolao is, it offers to take her to the Dragon King of the East Sea. The King welcomes her but doesn’t know where Lăolao is, either. He turns into his dragon form to take her to the Jade Emperor in his Celestial Palace. The Jade Emperor demands that she solve a riddle. Lili correctly answers it and is whisked away to a village crowded with festivities, where she and Lăolao, reunited, fill their quiet moments together with new memories. This tender tale of family bonding is followed by detailed backmatter, including an author’s note in which Zhang describes her relationship with her own grandmother, now deceased.
A charming journey rich with Chinese folktales and imagery. (descriptions of the Lantern Festival, information on Chinese mythological figures and symbols, craft activity) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 9, 2024
ISBN: 9780063217652
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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