A spare text accompanies and somewhat overburdens an intriguing visual tale about art and imagination presented in vivid, warm, full-color, and full-page gouache paintings. The endpapers and opening pages show a collection of simple, childlike pictures of rabbits. The story then moves on to show the rabbit artist, a boy of about ten (his signature on his drawings indicates that his name is Luis), cuddling his bunny, now transformed into a winsome live creature, in a landscape of childlike drawings of flowers, grass, trees, and house. “If you were real, we could do lots of things together,” the brief text begins. Then the boy and the “real” bunny are shown together over the next few pages and their actions described in several lines of text: playing in the yard, reading a book, gazing at the night sky, and cuddling quietly. “But if you were really real, what I would do . . . is let you go,” concludes the narrator, somewhat startlingly, since the bunny has been up to now treated as a pet. By letting us into Luis’s daydream where his drawing comes to life, George, a nature illustrator (Around the World: Who’s Been Here?, 1999, etc.) has attempted an interesting observation about the ways we can (and cannot) hold onto the things we create, but the result is somewhat muddled. The text seems to intrude, providing a narrative that might best be supplied by the reader. Luis looks a few years older than his rabbit-drawings might suggest. The lovely tactile bunny and handsome child will be enough for some readers; other children just learning to draw what they love may feel vaguely patronized by the mixture of childlike drawing and impressive “real” bunny and boy. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: March 31, 2001
ISBN: 0-688-16074-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
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 sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
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