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UP THE MOUNTAIN PATH

Name: UP THE MOUNTAIN PATH
Author: Marianne Dubuc
ISBN: 978-1-61689-723-9

by Marianne Dubuc ; illustrated by Marianne Dubuc ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 2, 2018

A quiet, lovely story for the intergenerational shelf.

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In this Canadian import translated from French, after many hikes together, an aging badger is no longer able to make it up the mountain; and so her cat mentee, Lulu, becomes the mentor, helping another up the hill in this cyclical story of intergenerational relationships.

Mrs. Badger is an avid hiker, making the trek to Sugarloaf Peak every Sunday, always ready with a kind word or gesture. It’s with this attitude of generosity that she befriends Lulu, a young cat who wishes to reach the mountaintop. Together they hike, and over many weeks, Lulu’s confidence and knowledge grow under the gentle guidance of Mrs. Badger. Eventually, it’s Lulu who’s helping Mrs. Badger along the way, until one day the rosy-cheeked mustelid can no longer make the sojourn. With the passage of time, the mountain slowly becomes Lulu’s alone, until one day she encounters a rabbit in much the same way Mrs. Badger met her. The two begin the hike together, continuing the same journey of friendship. Simple natural settings and character designs done in an earthy, primary palette are appealing. The artist uses simple washes with colored pencils to accent small details and patterning, and the compositions flow well, echoing the story of Lulu’s journey with both intimate scenes and vast environments. Dubuc adheres to the story’s pattern both in text and art, which makes for a pleasant and predictable journey.

A quiet, lovely story for the intergenerational shelf. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-61689-723-9

Page Count: 72

Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press

Review Posted Online: July 23, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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by Marianne Dubuc ; illustrated by Marianne Dubuc

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by Marianne Dubuc ; illustrated by Marianne Dubuc

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by Marianne Dubuc ; illustrated by Marianne Dubuc ; translated by Yvette Ghione

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)