Thumbs up for an easy tale of overcoming difference through art and curiosity. (Picture book. 3-7)
In the fourth book of the series, Ellie the elephant observes the new critter at the zoo—Ping, the painting panda.
Not to be confused with pandas of the kung fu sort, Ping brings a friendly black-and-white brightness to the zoo. Her image is full of contradictions that make her unusual to the group of zoo animals. Sharp eyes belie her soft roundness while her wide girth gives way to tiny hands that create graceful and interesting brushwork. She is definitely not a local, and Ellie and her friends cannot understand her language. Ping must pick up her bamboo brush and paint her words (characters that readers of Chinese will readily recognize). While the animals marvel at Ping’s artwork, Ellie begins to feel overshadowed, as the calligraphy is so different from her multicolored paintings. When Ping reaches out to offer Ellie a bamboo brush, the elephant awkwardly declines. “Maybe my paintings aren’t that special,” she whispers to herself. Indeed, the inclusion of Ping’s pictures adds contrast and stylistic interest to Wu’s ebullient watercolors. The gorilla named Gerard once again dispenses wisdom to the sweet elephant, encouraging her to learn more about Ping and her art. Can sharing art be a bridge between two different cultures? By the end, Ping and Ellie seem to think so.
Thumbs up for an easy tale of overcoming difference through art and curiosity. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-368-01000-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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