Come for the sobbing baby. Stay for the psychedelic cacophony of accompanying chaos.
A familiar tale is upended in a show of magical realism…and flatulence.
In this Argentinian import, readers meet Elisa, a diapered baby sporting a bowl haircut. One evening she begins to cry, slowly at first, then gaining in strength. Her parents try different tactics to quiet her but are unsuccessful, so the neighbors, unable to sleep from the racket, try their own techniques. They attempt everything from donning animal masks to dancing around in fruit costumes, all to no avail. As in any tall tale, the author employs exaggerated language; little Elisa’s cries are described in increasingly impossible (and impossibly funny) ways. Her roars are so powerful that characters in storybooks cry, too. “Her cry [is] so fierce it wither[s] the flowers and scare[s] away the little birds.” Finally, the next morning, Grandma stops by and immediately bicycles Elisa’s legs slowly. What happens next is a fart so colossal that it lifts the entire apartment building off its foundations and into space. While the fart is over-the-top, its presence is almost dwarfed by the sheer energy, color, and vibrancy of the accompanying surreal illustrations. Both story and art reflect a passion for extremes, each equally ridiculous in their own ways. Elisa and her family are pink-hued, while the neighbors vary in skin tone.
Come for the sobbing baby. Stay for the psychedelic cacophony of accompanying chaos. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2024
ISBN: 9798893389050
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Transit Children's Editions
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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