Little ones will have fun mimicking the characters without realizing they're learning Chinese at the same time.
Who knew a human boy and a frog could have so much in common?
Unlike many bilingual picture books, this Chinese import is delivered primarily in Simplified Chinese accompanied by hanyu pinyin (Mandarin phonetic transcriptions). At the back, English text is paired to thumbnail illustrations. Out picnicking with his parents, a little boy meets a frog and engages it in friendly competition. “I can squat,” says the frog. “I can squat too,” says the boy. The frog boasts, “My tongue is long.” The boy replies, “My tongue is long too.” Then the frog has a thought and invites the boy to come with it. The frog leads the boy to a pond where a colony of frogs greets him reverently: “Welcome home, Prince.” Due to his froglike talents, the frogs have mistaken the boy for their long-lost prince! Thinking quickly, he points out why he can’t possibly be the Frog Prince: he has dark hair and pink ears; he doesn’t like wearing green and definitely doesn’t like eating bugs. Too bad the abrupt and somewhat absurd ending (lost in translation perhaps?) doesn't live up to the rest of the story. Regardless, the art shines. The boy’s dynamic expressions morph from page to page, and the rural setting is awash in gorgeous earth tones: brown soil, green leaves, blue-gray sky, and splashes of pink. Don’t skip the endpapers—they bookend the story beautifully.
Little ones will have fun mimicking the characters without realizing they're learning Chinese at the same time. (glossary) (Bilingual picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-945-29515-7
Page Count: 42
Publisher: Candied Plums
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2016
A must-own adaptation chock-full of such stuff as kids’ dreams are—and will be—made on.
Mirth, magic, and mischief abound in this picture-book retelling of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays.
Ariel, the beloved sprite whose conjurings precipitate the eponymous tempest, gets top billing in this adaptation and recounts the narrative in the first person. Through Ariel’s eyes, readers are introduced to the powerful Prospero, his lovely daughter, Miranda, and the shipwrecked nobles who are brought to the island to right an ancient wrong. Ellinas’ picture book largely divests the tale of its colonialist underpinnings and breathes three-dimensional complexity into the major and minor characters. Caliban, for instance, is monstrous due to his callous treatment of Ariel rather than because he is racially coded as savage. Another delightful change is the depiction of Miranda, who emerges as an athletic, spirited, and beautiful nature-child whose charms are understandably irresistible to Prince Ferdinand. The text is perfectly matched by Ray’s jaw-droppingly beautiful illustrations, which will enchant readers from the front cover to the final curtain. The greens of the waters and the blues of the island’s night sky are so lush and inviting that readers will wish they could enter the book. Peppered throughout the story are italicized fragments of Shakespeare’s dialogue, giving both young and older readers something to enjoy. Large, granite-colored Caliban is plainly nonhuman; the human characters present white; Ariel is a translucent, paper white.
A must-own adaptation chock-full of such stuff as kids’ dreams are—and will be—made on. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1144-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 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
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