Dismaying, with little payoff.
A seagull furiously admonishes a rock.
Landing on the beach, the bird bites the rock, hurting its beak. Enraged, it berates the rock: “You are too small. I see you as a pebble.” The bullying quickly escalates to bleak existential threats, with the potential for evoking tears or even nightmares in sensitive children. The bird tells the rock that if it were thrown into a lake, it would be lost forever, never finding its way home, and if it does return, it will be thrown away again and again until it’s “just a speck” that risks “disappearing completely…Forever gone.” The rock is unperturbed, simply repeating “I am a rock” at intervals. The bird’s wildly disproportionate wrath is cut off only when a tan-skinned child waves it away. Wordlessly, the youngster places the titular character into an artful arrangement of other rocks in the sand, reaffirming its worth, depicted by James’ bold acrylics and inks. Still, this conclusion isn’t nearly enough to outweigh the harsh tone of the text. Because the bird addresses the rock as “you,” readers and listeners will experience the bird’s cruelty as though it is directed straight at them. Though the author attempts to convey an underlying message about maintaining a strong sense of identity as a bulwark against bullies, many children may be too distressed to uncover it.
Dismaying, with little payoff. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781773069487
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child...
Imani endures the insults heaped upon her by the other village children, but she never gives up her dreams.
The Masai girl is tiny compared to the other children, but she is full of imagination and perseverance. Luckily, she has a mother who believes in her and tells her stories that will fuel that imagination. Mama tells her about the moon goddess, Olapa, who wins over the sun god. She tells Imani about Anansi, the trickster spider who vanquishes a larger snake. (Troublingly, the fact that Anansi is a West African figure, not of the Masai, goes unaddressed in both text and author’s note.) Inspired, the tiny girl tries to find new ways to achieve her dream: to touch the moon. One day, after crashing to the ground yet again when her leafy wings fail, she is ready to forget her hopes. That night, she witnesses the adumu, the special warriors’ jumping dance. Imani wakes the next morning, determined to jump to the moon. After jumping all day, she reaches the moon, meets Olapa and receives a special present from the goddess, a small moon rock. Now she becomes the storyteller when she relates her adventure to Mama. The watercolor-and-graphite illustrations have been enhanced digitally, and the night scenes of storytelling and fantasy with their glowing stars and moons have a more powerful impact than the daytime scenes, with their blander colors.
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child to be admired. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-934133-57-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Mackinac Island Press
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader!
Fun with friends makes for a great day.
Norbit, a salmon-colored worm with a pink kerchief, joyfully greets the day and everyone he encounters. “Hello, friends! It’s time for fun with the sun! Let’s play!” He and his menagerie of forest pals—including the sun, who grows limbs and descends from the sky—exuberantly engage in various forms of physical activity such as jumping, going down a slide, spinning around, and watching the clouds go by. Young readers will readily relate, as these are games that most children are familiar with. As day turns to night, Norbit says farewell to Sun and welcomes Moon with an invitation to continue the fun. Watkins has created a vivid world of movement and merriment. Her illustrations feature bright bursts of color that match the energy of the text, with most sentences ending in an exclamation point. The author/illustrator incorporates many elements that make for an ideal early-reading experience (despite the use of a contraction or two): art free from clutter, text consisting of words with only one or two syllables, and repetition and recurring bits, such as a continued game of hide-and-seek with Sun. Inspired by never-before-seen sketches from the Dr. Seuss Collection archives at the University of California San Diego, this is the first title for Seuss Studios, a new imprint for original stories from “emerging authors and illustrators” who “honor Seuss’s hallmark spirit of creativity and imagination.”
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader! (author's note) (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780593646212
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Seuss Studios
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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