Visual charm, a simple plot, and a big-hearted royal young hero.
A little princess knows just what to do about her new fairy friends’ big problem in Waldecker’s illustrated children’s book.
Adventure-loving Princess Ella is sure that the stories about fairies living in a secret garden in the woods are true, but her previous searches for the magical place have been unsuccessful. This time, however, the princess discovers a hidden path in the forest “lined with the most incredible flowers and plants” where “the air shone with a misty glow.” She knows that the fairies’ garden has to be near. It turns out that the fairies have been hoping to meet Princess Ella because they have a problem and hope she can help: Woodcutters from Ella’s kingdom are getting too close to the magical garden as they chop down trees to build homes for the human villagers. Ella, depicted as a sweet-faced little girl with blond hair and big blue eyes, knows exactly what to do: She offers the villagers an alternative forest to reap for wood with the proviso that they plant new trees as they go. The villagers are surprisingly compliant, considering that they’re not told why they must change their way of doing things. But children will easily grasp that Ella feels that caring for living things—fairies, people, and trees—is important. Waldecker again teams with prolific children’s book illustrator Geyer, who created the eye-catching, whimsical artwork for the two previous books in the Princess Ella Adventures series, Princess Ella and the Great Squirrel Chase (2023) and Princess Ella and the Missing Kittens (2023). Geyer contributes a lush palette (soft greens, blues, purples, and yellows) and delicately rendered details (of trees, flowers, foliage, waterfalls, sparkly lights, and tiny, multicolored fairies shimmering in clouds of fairy dust). The alternately black and white text, rendered in a cozy, readable font, is set against solid-colored design elements within the full-page illustrations. Reflecting Princess Ella’s adventurous spirit and her kind and helpful heart, this simply told story should please preschoolers and young readers alike.
Visual charm, a simple plot, and a big-hearted royal young hero.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9798988126577
Page Count: 34
Publisher: P.E. Adventures Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A charming blend of whimsy and medieval heroism highlighting the triumph of brains over brawn.
A young owl achieves his grand ambition.
Owl, an adorably earnest and gallant little owlet, dreams of being a knight. He imagines himself defeating dragons and winning favor far and wide through his brave exploits. When a record number of knights go missing, Owl applies to Knight School and is surprisingly accepted. He is much smaller than the other knights-in-training, struggles to wield weapons, and has “a habit of nodding off during the day.” Nevertheless, he graduates and is assigned to the Knight Night Watch. While patrolling the castle walls one night, a hungry dragon shows up and Owl must use his wits to avoid meeting a terrible end. The result is both humorous and heartwarming, offering an affirmation of courage and clear thinking no matter one’s size…and demonstrating the power of a midnight snack. The story never directly addresses the question of the missing knights, but it is hinted that they became the dragon’s fodder, leaving readers to question Owl’s decision to befriend the beast. Humor is supplied by the characters’ facial expressions and accented by the fact that Owl is the only animal in his order of big, burly human knights. Denise’s accomplished digital illustrations—many of which are full bleeds—often use a warm sepia palette that evokes a feeling of antiquity, and some spreads feature a pleasing play of chiaroscuro that creates suspense and drama.
A charming blend of whimsy and medieval heroism highlighting the triumph of brains over brawn. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-31062-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
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
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