A fantastical romp to lasso any heart.
A Western-themed retelling of "Cinderella" starring young queer protagonists.
Cinda loves adventure, her critters, and jalapeno fritters. Not so much dresses and “adult supervision.” When her parents are eaten by a gator and Aunt Hildy shows up to take away everything else she loves, Cinda finds hope in an invitation to a contest (including racing, lassoing, and a “surprise challenge”) hosted by Ella of the rich Del Reina family. It helps that the Rider who delivers the invitation is cute and that they seem as interested in Cinda as she is in them. The day of the contest, a giant boar named Merrie Hoggmüther and a slippery snake named Slipper assist Cinda—with the caveat that Slipper must be home before sundown or she’ll get cold and grumpy enough to bite. Cinda’s love of critters carries her through the day and wins the regard of Ella, who turns out to have been the Rider the whole time, much to Cinda’s delight. With a happily-ever-after full of animals and adventure on the horizon, this story jazzes up “Cinderella” with a vibrant palette of primary colors and expressive illustrations that relate as much of the story as the text itself. Playful language and a sweet depiction of a budding queer relationship make for a fun, touching story. Cinda presents Black, while Aunt Hildy and Ella are light-skinned; the supporting cast is diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A fantastical romp to lasso any heart. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: May 16, 2023
ISBN: 9780316628372
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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