An immersive, much-needed reminder that nature is all around us, if we only look.
Come along on a hike!
Connecting the city to the sea, the 13-mile Park to Playa nature trail winds through various L.A. neighborhoods, all the way to the Pacific Ocean. A family sets out on the trail for a day filled with fun. The young unnamed narrator celebrates a birthday party, complete with a piñata. Then the family hikes, eats fresh fruit from vendors, takes a bike ride, and enjoys an evening beachside bonfire. In an author’s note, Beckerman emphasizes that nature can be found all around, even in “the densest urban city,” and this story is a testament to that fact. The narrator gazes at a desert cottontail, which hops by as a helicopter flies past. A kestrel “swoops in a circle, riding warm wind,” against a backdrop of buildings and trees. And, as day turns to night, a sparkling pier dazzles over calm ocean waves. Beckerman and Diao demonstrate that the roads we choose to take connect us both to the Earth and to each other. Every page underscores the fact that joy and discovery are to be found in the seemingly mundane. Heavily textured illustrations brim with a diversity of plants and animals. Characters are racially diverse.
An immersive, much-needed reminder that nature is all around us, if we only look. (visual glossary) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781949480252
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cameron Kids
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024
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
Like its subject: full of bustling life yet peaceful.
Life buzzes in a community garden.
Surrounded by apartment buildings, this city garden gets plenty of human attention, but the book’s stars are the plants and insects. The opening spread shows a black child in a striped shirt sitting in a top-story window; the nearby trees and garden below reveal the beginnings of greenery that signal springtime. From that high-up view, the garden looks quiet—but it’s not. “Sleepy slugs / and garden snails / leave behind their silver trails. / Frantic teams of busy ants / scramble up the stems of plants”; and “In the earth / a single seed / sits beside a millipede. / Worms and termites / dig and toil / moving through the garden soil.” Sicuro zooms in too, showing a robin taller than a half-page; later, close-ups foreground flowers, leaves, and bugs while people (children and adults, a multiracial group) are crucial but secondary, sometimes visible only as feet. Watercolor illustrations with ink and charcoal highlights create a soft, warm, horticulturally damp environment. Scale and perspective are more stylized than literal. McCanna’s superb scansion never misses, incorporating lists of insects and plants (“Lacewings, gnats, / mosquitos, spiders, / dragonflies, and water striders / live among the cattail reeds, / lily pads, and waterweeds”) with description (“Sunlight warms the morning air. / Dewdrops shimmer / here and there”). Readers see more than gardeners do, such as rabbits stealing carrots and lettuce from garden boxes.
Like its subject: full of bustling life yet peaceful. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-1797-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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