A sweet, contemplative ode to long-distance familial relationships.
A grandfather’s visit from overseas sparks wonder, sadness, and joy.
Upon first seeing Grandpa at the airport, the unnamed young protagonist is overcome with timidity. But back at home, the child is delighted by the treats Grandpa has brought back from his homeland, including walnuts from his very own trees. Although the protagonist doesn’t speak Farsi and Grandpa doesn’t seem to speak English, the two set off on an adventure through the main character’s world. The child shows Grandpa “the darkest path in the world,” a horse named Santiago, a frog named Malou, and a hill called Rabbit-View. The protagonist wishes Grandpa could see even more, like the coming of spring and falling snow. Realizing Grandpa can’t stay forever, the child becomes emotional. But after the tears dry and a raucous family dinner, the protagonist is thrilled when, in the middle of the night, it begins to snow—one wish granted. “I reach out a hand…and hope that these days go slowly.” This tender tale in verse is a touching portrayal of the complex reality of having family members who live far away. While the author leaves out some details, like what country the grandfather comes from, the gorgeously lit illustrations and lyrical, rhyming text make for a gentle, fulfilling read. The child, Mum, and Grandpa are tan-skinned; Dad is light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A sweet, contemplative ode to long-distance familial relationships. (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2023
ISBN: 9781536231267
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
As ephemeral as a valentine.
Daywalt and Jeffers’ wandering crayons explore love.
Each double-page spread offers readers a vision of one of the anthropomorphic crayons on the left along with the statement “Love is [color].” The word love is represented by a small heart in the appropriate color. Opposite, childlike crayon drawings explain how that color represents love. So, readers learn, “love is green. / Because love is helpful.” The accompanying crayon drawing depicts two alligators, one holding a recycling bin and the other tossing a plastic cup into it, offering readers two ways of understanding green. Some statements are thought-provoking: “Love is white. / Because sometimes love is hard to see,” reaches beyond the immediate image of a cat’s yellow eyes, pink nose, and black mouth and whiskers, its white face and body indistinguishable from the paper it’s drawn on, to prompt real questions. “Love is brown. / Because sometimes love stinks,” on the other hand, depicted by a brown bear standing next to a brown, squiggly turd, may provoke giggles but is fundamentally a cheap laugh. Some of the color assignments have a distinctly arbitrary feel: Why is purple associated with the imagination and pink with silliness? Fans of The Day the Crayons Quit (2013) hoping for more clever, metaliterary fun will be disappointed by this rather syrupy read.
As ephemeral as a valentine. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Dec. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-9268-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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