A full-bodied story with an economy of style, this will be particularly rewarding for emerging readers.
This picture-book debut from a New Yorker cartoonist presents a child and a dog and their escapades while fishing.
The narrative is mostly wordless, although the alphabet does take center stage. A controlled palette of aquamarine, black, and white heightens both contrast and surprise when the child reels in a red “F,” even as readers and the dog see a huge, menacing “C” emerging from the depths. After pulling in the “I” and “S,” the child’s dragged down into a vortex of scarlet “H”s. The mission’s finally accomplished, but a squall of “B”s and the sharklike tips of “A”s force the child to relinquish the entire haul. The clean pen-and-watercolor panels and spreads are by turn humorous and dramatic. Children will enjoy following the dog’s storyline as much as the child’s; in fact, it is the canine’s quiet efforts that ultimately lead to a red-letter day. The conclusion (foreshadowed before the title page) reveals a larger story. Although the pair was trolling for the letters in “fish,” it was apparently done to help nearby race organizers correct their incomplete “finish”-line sign—and conclude the competition. The child has short, textured black hair and is hoisted at the end of the story by a pair of runners depicted ambiguously enough to allow readers to see a biracial set of parents, possibly same-sex.
A full-bodied story with an economy of style, this will be particularly rewarding for emerging readers. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: May 31, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-62672-333-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Neal Porter/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
PROFILES
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
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