illustrated by Molly Bang ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 22, 1988
Delphine is a child/earth-mother/superhero who lives atop a precipitous hill. A diminutive postman brings her a letter—Gram has sent a present, now at the post office. Accompanied by her two awe-inspiring beasts (wolf and lioness) plus her little guinea pig, Delphine makes her perilous way down the winding trail via baby carriage and a vine rope over a chasm, using her parasol to fend off lightning. The parcel is a bicycle. Though she is (preposterously, considering her recent exploits) scared about learning to ride it, she soon masters it well enough to get back up her mountain and write a thank you note to Gram. This is an extraordinarily imaginative book, full of exquisite visual detail from the gifted artist of The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher and The Paper Crane, and will probably provoke at least as much discussion as those earlier books. Delphine and her companions, as well as such carefully selected details as the delphiniums and sunflowers on her mountain, are of a heroic size that is at first disconcerting; but on rereading—and pondering the splendid, bright illustrations—they seem a glorious dramatization of the trepidation and triumph inherent in mastering any difficult task.
Pub Date: Aug. 22, 1988
ISBN: 0688056369
Page Count: -
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1988
Share your opinion of this book
More by Molly Bang
BOOK REVIEW
by Molly Bang with Ann Stern ; illustrated by Molly Bang
BOOK REVIEW
by Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm ; illustrated by Molly Bang
BOOK REVIEW
by Molly Bang ; illustrated by Molly Bang
by Josh Schneider & illustrated by Josh Schneider ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2011
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
Share your opinion of this book
More by Josh Schneider
BOOK REVIEW
by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider
BOOK REVIEW
by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider
BOOK REVIEW
by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider
by Chloe Perkins ; illustrated by Sandra Equihua ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2016
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
adapted by Hannah Eliot ; illustrated by Nivea Ortiz
by Chloe Perkins ; illustrated by Dinara Mirtalipova
by Chloe Perkins ; illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan
More by Chloe Perkins
BOOK REVIEW
by Chloe Perkins ; illustrated by Dinara Mirtalipova
BOOK REVIEW
by Chloe Perkins ; illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.