by Manuel Marsol ; illustrated by Manuel Marsol ; translated by Lizzie Davis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 18, 2025
An achingly beautiful testament to life, love, and death among the stars.
This Spanish import mixes meditations on mortality with an outer-space setting.
“We had never seen such a strange being.” A creature who’s 90% neck attached to a spherelike orange body tells the story of Astro—an orange-suited astronaut whose face is never visible—who lands one day on the narrator’s planet. Illustrations that feel like a mashup of Peter Max’s psychedelic work and the cacophony of Bruegel (though quite a bit sweeter) depict spectacular landscapes and denizens, alien and wonderful. The narrator is eager to play with Astro, and the two strike up a deep friendship. After musing that “you should make the most of the good times. Because they don’t always last,” the narrator dies one day in an accident, leaving Astro bewildered and bereft. The creature continues to narrate as the spaceman ponders beginnings and endings and, in an act of acceptance, finally leaves the planet. A postscript shows Astro and the narrator together, Astro finding a tiny object that he holds in gloved hands that seem to contain universes. This translated tale perfectly taps into feelings of gentle wonder. “Maybe beings and worlds disappear but questions stay floating forever.” The results are not merely otherworldly—they will also challenge children’s very perceptions of what it means to be alive. Quotes from writers such as J.M. Barrie and Carl Sagan close out the work.
An achingly beautiful testament to life, love, and death among the stars. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9798893389043
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Transit Children's Editions
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
Share your opinion of this book
by Dev Petty ; illustrated by Lauren Eldridge ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 20, 2017
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
Share your opinion of this book
More by Dev Petty
BOOK REVIEW
by Dev Petty ; illustrated by Mike Boldt
BOOK REVIEW
by Dev Petty ; illustrated by Mike Boldt
BOOK REVIEW
by Dev Petty ; illustrated by Mike Boldt
by Christina Soontornvat ; illustrated by Barbara Szepesi Szucs ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 25, 2019
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.
Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.
The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
Share your opinion of this book
More by Christina Soontornvat
BOOK REVIEW
by Christina Soontornvat ; illustrated by Joanna Cacao
BOOK REVIEW
by Christina Soontornvat ; illustrated by Isabel Roxas
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.