Although the illustrations may not appeal to everyone, the lovable Bah Koo will likely win over young readers and listeners.
With a short trunk for a nose, the ears of a cow, and the mane, body, and tail of a lion, Bah Koo is an unusual animal looking for his place in the world in this sweet children’s picture book.
Bah Koo not only looks different from other animals, but also has a “strange and mysterious feeling there was something he was meant to do…but just what it was, he did not know.” Ostracized and sad, he leaves his home. He’s “tired and hungry and cold and wet and all the things that make any of us sad when we are alone and far from home” when he stumbles on two children playing in their treehouse. They bring him into their home and take care of him. He charms everyone, including two friends that no one else can see: the Tooth Fairy and the Sandman. His new acquaintances make him once again feel that he has a gift to share. He finds out what that gift is late one night when one of the children’s moans awakens him. Bah Koo runs to the boy’s room and confronts a nightmare; little Bah Koo instantly grows larger and becomes filled with new power and strength. He now knows his mission, has become aware of the Great Creator, and is ready to find his own home. The second chapter of the story, in which Bah Koo visits a Wise Old Owl in search of more answers, is less interesting than the first. Overall, however, Rhodes’ debut is an engaging retelling of the Asian myth of Baku, the Dream Eater. It tells the story in clear language at a child-friendly pace that makes for a good read-aloud. Readers who know Bah Koo’s Asian origins, however, may wonder about the Anglo-looking humans in the color illustrations. That said, the images’ purple mushrooms, surprised squirrels, and decorative hearts give the book a sketchlike, 1970s-era quality.
Although the illustrations may not appeal to everyone, the lovable Bah Koo will likely win over young readers and listeners.Pub Date: April 16, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4809-0168-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Co.
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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