Readers are not likely to find a stranger aggregation of variegated princesses than in this fantastical collection of royal predilections and whims. This French import examines 34 fictitious princesses and their preferences, taboos, traits and oddities. Along the way it also gives advice on dancing, fans, princess etiquette and a host of amusing ephemera and enticements. For instance, Princess Tangri-la “dresses wildly, without care” and adores dancing; her “bio” is accompanied by a short, idiosyncratic exposition on dance. This book begs readers to pore over its miniscule details at length, to say nothing of Dautremer’s lushly rendered illustrations, which require repeated viewings. Too long for the preschool/early-elementary set and appearing at first glance to be too young for the chapter-book readers, it fails to fit easily into familiar categories, however. It may fare best among those children with a taste for the strange, eclectic and beautiful who have room in their brains for a little outsized creativity. Consider handing it to those kids with a penchant for the impossible. A beautiful affair that requires a special kind of audience. (Picture book. 7-11)
Pub Date: June 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4027-6677-0
Page Count: 92
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2010
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay.
Renowned Latin American writer Alvarez has created another story about cultural identity, but this time the primary character is 11-year-old Miguel Guzmán.
When Tía Lola arrives to help the family, Miguel and his hermana, Juanita, have just moved from New York City to Vermont with their recently divorced mother. The last thing Miguel wants, as he's trying to fit into a predominantly white community, is a flamboyant aunt who doesn't speak a word of English. Tía Lola, however, knows a language that defies words; she quickly charms and befriends all the neighbors. She can also cook exotic food, dance (anywhere, anytime), plan fun parties, and tell enchanting stories. Eventually, Tía Lola and the children swap English and Spanish ejercicios, but the true lesson is "mutual understanding." Peppered with Spanish words and phrases, Alvarez makes the reader as much a part of the "language" lessons as the characters. This story seamlessly weaves two culturaswhile letting each remain intact, just as Miguel is learning to do with his own life. Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they're being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of la lengua nativa—the mother tongue.
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-80215-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
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