Absolutely stellar.
Space adventurer Ava explores the solar system and gets home in time for supper.
This spectacular space jaunt is a top-tier blend of adventure and information, creatively conveyed. Bright colors, inventive use of die-cut pages, and one spectacular pop-up tableau provide eye-catching scenes, almost every one offering a window onto the scene to follow. Ava, a brown-skinned young astronaut-in-the-making, has a bedroom filled with models of rockets and planets. “This is Ava. Today she is going on a big space adventure. / Ava climbs into her rocket ship and waits for the final countdown.” The next five double-page spreads depicting levels of staging around Ava’s rocket are die-cut in the shapes of numerals, inviting kids to join in the countdown: “5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1 / 0 / LIFT OFF.” Ava and her imperturbable cat blast off into space as the crew in the control room monitors the operation. First stop is the International Space Station. After Ava makes a “daring spacewalk” to repair a solar panel, she heads for the moon, then around the sun, through the asteroid belt, and past each of the eight planets in the solar system, with cutaways in every scene previewing the coming destinations. The text is accessible for young readers yet rich in information and detail. In companion title Ocean Adventure, a black boy named Noah has an equally thrilling undersea expedition.
Absolutely stellar. (Board book. 2-6)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9999679-8-7
Page Count: 36
Publisher: What on Earth Books
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A disappointing follow-up.
Inventor Izzy Gizmo is back in this sequel to her eponymous debut (2017).
While busily inventing one day, Izzy receives an invitation from the Genius Guild to their annual convention. Though Izzy’s “inventions…don’t always work,” Grandpa (apparently her sole caregiver) encourages her to go. The next day they undertake a long journey “over fields, hills, and waves” and “mile after mile” to isolated Technoff Isle. There, Izzy finds she must compete against four other kids to create the most impressive machine. The colorful, detail-rich illustrations chronicle how poor Izzy is thwarted at every turn by Abi von Lavish, a Veruca Salt–esque character who takes all the supplies for herself. But when Abi abandons her project, Izzy salvages the pieces and decides to take Grandpa’s advice to create a machine that “can really be put to good use.” A frustrated Izzy’s impatience with a friend almost foils her chance at the prize, but all’s well that ends well. There’s much to like: Brown-skinned inventor girl Izzy is an appealing character, it’s great to see a nurturing brown-skinned male caregiver, the idea of an “Invention Convention” is fun, and a sustainable-energy invention is laudable. However, these elements don’t make up for rhymes that often feel forced and a lackluster story.
A disappointing follow-up. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68263-164-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
Parent-child love and affection, appealingly presented, with the added attraction of the seasonal content and lack of gender...
A polar-bear parent speaks poetically of love for a child.
A genderless adult and cub travel through the landscapes of an arctic year. Each of the softly rendered double-page paintings has a very different feel and color palette as the pair go through the seasons, walking through wintry ice and snow and green summer meadows, cavorting in the blue ocean, watching whales, and playing beside musk oxen. The rhymes of the four-line stanzas are not forced, as is the case too often in picture books of this type: “When cold, winter winds / blow the leaves far and wide, / You’ll cross the great icebergs / with me by your side.” On a dark, snowy night, the loving parent says: “But for now, cuddle close / while the stars softly shine. // I’ll always be yours, / and you’ll always be mine.” As the last illustration shows the pair curled up for sleep, young listeners will be lulled to sweet dreams by the calm tenor of the pictures and the words. While far from original, this timeless theme is always in demand, and the combination of delightful illustrations and poetry that scans well make this a good choice for early-childhood classrooms, public libraries, and one-on-one home read-alouds.
Parent-child love and affection, appealingly presented, with the added attraction of the seasonal content and lack of gender restrictions. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68010-070-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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