An engaging, cheerfully illustrated story with a classic moral.
In the sixth installment of Katsori’s (Loukoumi’s Cookbook, 2011, etc.) children’s book series, Loukoumi the lamb responds to a bully by following the golden rule.
Loukoumi is excited to tell her animal friends at school that her parents are expecting a new baby lamb. Her excitement is spoiled, however, when an alligator named Igor, the schoolyard bully, interrupts to mock Loukoumi’s unique name (which means “sweet” in Greek), and she’s hurt and confounded by his cruel words and actions. Fortunately, her crew of animal friends consoles her with wise words. They discuss the value of celebrating differences and individuality. Her monkey friend, Marika, explains that kindness and acceptance of others should prevail over cruelty and bullying. Throughout the day, Loukoumi follows her friends’ advice, showing Igor forgiving kindness and respect; for example, when Igor’s pencil breaks, Loukoumi happily lends him one of hers, despite Igor’s prior cruelty. Igor is surprised and positively affected by her unwavering friendliness. The book provides young readers with an example of how bullying may be overcome not with retaliation, but with kind consideration. Bright, colorful illustrations lend the book an engaging cartoon aesthetic. However, the resolution of Loukoumi’s bullying problem may seem too quick and easy, as Igor quickly transforms into an ally after just a few acts of kindness. However, the overarching theme of the story, the golden rule, is one which may be useful for young readers. The book’s accessible text and illustrations make this a good choice for beginning readers. It also comes with an audio version of the story, animatedly narrated by Nia Vardalos, writer and star of the 2002 film My Big Fat Greek Wedding, with Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman as the voice of Igor.
An engaging, cheerfully illustrated story with a classic moral.Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2013
ISBN: 978-0984161034
Page Count: 32
Publisher: NK Publications/Dream Day Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PROFILES
Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
SEEN & HEARD
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
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
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