A quietly astonishing delight unfurls for those who take the time to look beneath the surface.
Stop and look—and look again.
At first glance, each illustration appears to be mostly white space surrounding a single monochromatic image painted in deep blue. But hold it up to the light, and an intricate magenta underlay appears. Suddenly, simple branches are full of hidden birds, bugs, and butterflies. Bears and squirrels roam through previously barren woods. This striking effect is accomplished by thin, doubled pages connected at their outer edges. The blue artwork is printed on the front, while the magenta layer sits on a sheet behind it, just dark enough to show through. The effect is subtle enough that readers quickly flipping through the pages might miss it entirely. Seeing the full detail requires holding the book up to eye level and positioning it just so in the light. (Fittingly, natural light works best.) While the art sets this tale apart, the words are beautiful, too. Originally written in Spanish and presented alongside an English translation, the verse is also an ode to looking closely. Ferrada begins by expounding on the lines crisscrossing a leaf. Slowly, as the illustrations switch focus to the leaf’s branch, the tree, and the forest, the author contemplates their interconnections to each other across the year. A child (who isn’t depicted in the art) notices that the patterns of the forest are reflected within a single leaf.
A quietly astonishing delight unfurls for those who take the time to look beneath the surface. (Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9798988749936
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Tapioca Stories
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book.
Ada Twist’s incessant stream of questions leads to answers that help solve a neighborhood crisis.
Ada conducts experiments at home to answer questions such as, why does Mom’s coffee smell stronger than Dad’s coffee? Each answer leads to another question, another hypothesis, and another experiment, which is how she goes from collecting data on backyard birds for a citizen-science project to helping Rosie Revere figure out how to get her uncle Ned down from the sky, where his helium-filled “perilous pants” are keeping him afloat. The Questioneers—Rosie the engineer, Iggy Peck the architect, and Ada the scientist—work together, asking questions like scientists. Armed with knowledge (of molecules and air pressure, force and temperature) but more importantly, with curiosity, Ada works out a solution. Ada is a recognizable, three-dimensional girl in this delightfully silly chapter book: tirelessly curious and determined yet easily excited and still learning to express herself. If science concepts aren’t completely clear in this romp, relationships and emotions certainly are. In playful full- and half-page illustrations that break up the text, Ada is black with Afro-textured hair; Rosie and Iggy are white. A closing section on citizen science may inspire readers to get involved in science too; on the other hand, the “Ode to a Gas!” may just puzzle them. Other backmatter topics include the importance of bird study and the threat palm-oil use poses to rainforests.
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3422-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An exuberant portrayal of a girl with hearing restrictions reaching for the stars.
Astrid, a spunky, smart California third grader, has great aspirations.
She will become “the first astronaut with hearing aids,” a possibility that is treated very naturally within this story, the first in a new chapter book series. Joining the Shooting Stars, an after-school club devoted to all things space, has long been part of Astrid’s “Astronomically Grand Plan.” Though Astrid wants to go to space camp, it’s expensive, but a scholarship is available for the Shooting Stars student who earns the most points for completing the STEM-oriented Astro Missions. She discovers another problem when she realizes that her best friend, Hallie, is more interested in art than in STEM and joins the Petite Picassos club. How can Astrid navigate Shooting Stars without her BFF, especially when she and her teammate Veejay don’t start out well? Club teacher Ms. Ruiz stresses creativity and partnership, and math and science enthusiasts will be attracted to this book, but the real emphasis is on relationships. Astrid must befriend Hallie again after voicing her disappointment with her interests and learn to be a good teammate. Astrid is likable, and her story, told in first person, realistically explores her hearing issues, her initial problem-solving failures, and her successes. Black-and-white illustrations depict Astrid (wearing her hearing aids) and her family as light-skinned, though other students appear to be racially diverse, and Hallie is cued as Asian.
An exuberant portrayal of a girl with hearing restrictions reaching for the stars. (Chapter book. 7-10)Pub Date: July 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8148-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
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