An evocative, enchanting tale of the quest for community.
A unicorn traverses the world, searching for another of his kind.
Translated from Portuguese, this Brazilian import, from a prolific master of the imaginary realm, zigzags through time and cultures to track the rare beast. When readers first glimpse Griso, his black body is edged with white and blue dots. The third-person narrative explains that “the last of the unicorns…was galloping all across the plains in search of another…just like him.” A chart at the book’s end notes that this portrayal is based on seventh-century Germanic art. The animal transforms in each mesmerizing spread, appearing in the color/style of the new art form: a Persian bas-relief, ancient Greek vase painting, a Tang dynasty mural. Mello trusts viewers to make these visual leaps as the shape-shifter interacts with horned whales, buffalo, and, at the height of danger, a medieval knight on a horse whose armored head bears a spike. The text unites the disparate compositions into a brilliantly cohesive story, presenting context about the time of day—e.g., bedtime—or the unicorn’s feelings of terror or loneliness. While Griso’s goal is unmet in one sense, in a scene set in Egypt, he does connect with another unique creature—the last of the winged horses, who is also weary, “having flown all across the plains in search of…another just like him.” Claudia de Moraes’ musings on unicorn sightings provide concluding inspiration.
An evocative, enchanting tale of the quest for community. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9781962770088
Page Count: 38
Publisher: Elsewhere Editions
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
A must-own adaptation chock-full of such stuff as kids’ dreams are—and will be—made on.
Mirth, magic, and mischief abound in this picture-book retelling of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays.
Ariel, the beloved sprite whose conjurings precipitate the eponymous tempest, gets top billing in this adaptation and recounts the narrative in the first person. Through Ariel’s eyes, readers are introduced to the powerful Prospero, his lovely daughter, Miranda, and the shipwrecked nobles who are brought to the island to right an ancient wrong. Ellinas’ picture book largely divests the tale of its colonialist underpinnings and breathes three-dimensional complexity into the major and minor characters. Caliban, for instance, is monstrous due to his callous treatment of Ariel rather than because he is racially coded as savage. Another delightful change is the depiction of Miranda, who emerges as an athletic, spirited, and beautiful nature-child whose charms are understandably irresistible to Prince Ferdinand. The text is perfectly matched by Ray’s jaw-droppingly beautiful illustrations, which will enchant readers from the front cover to the final curtain. The greens of the waters and the blues of the island’s night sky are so lush and inviting that readers will wish they could enter the book. Peppered throughout the story are italicized fragments of Shakespeare’s dialogue, giving both young and older readers something to enjoy. Large, granite-colored Caliban is plainly nonhuman; the human characters present white; Ariel is a translucent, paper white.
A must-own adaptation chock-full of such stuff as kids’ dreams are—and will be—made on. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1144-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts.
Can knightly deeds bring together a feathered odd couple who are on opposite daily schedules?
Having won over a dragon (and millions of fans) in the Caldecott Honor–winning Knight Owl (2022), the fierce yet impossibly cute nocturnal, armor-clad owlet faces a new challenge—sleep deprivation—in the wake of taking on Early Bird, a trainee who rises with the sun and chatters interminably: “I made pancakes! Do you like pancakes? I love pancakes! Where’s the syrup?” It’s enough to test the patience of even the knightliest of owls, and eventually Knight Owl explodes in anger. But although Early Bird is even smaller than her mentor, she turns out to be just as determined to achieve knighthood. After he tells her to leave, she acquits herself so nobly in a climactic encounter with a pack of wolves that she earns a place at the castle. Denise proves a dab hand at depicting genuinely slinky, scary wolves as well as slipping cheerfully anachronistic newspapers and other sight gags into his realistically wrought medieval settings to underscore the tale’s tongue-in-cheek tone. Better yet, a final view of the doughty duo sitting down together to a lavish pancake breakfast/dinner at dusk ends the episode in a sweet rush of syrup and bonhomie.
An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9780316564526
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
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