A delightful Lunar New Year tale of love, family, and a rooster.
It is Lunar New Year, and Grandma visits her granddaughter, Xiaoyue, bringing along her rooster. The plan is to make her grandchild her “scrumptious chicken soup.” However, once she arrives, she watches as Xiaoyue throws her arms around the bird and declares, “I want to keep this rooster!” (Her emphatic desire is underscored with the use of display type that extends across the double-page spread.) With the reluctant consent of her parents, Xiaoyue and Grandma take turns asking neighbors if they mind if she keeps a rooster; they all happily consent, citing either good luck, since it’s the Year of the Rooster, or fond family and childhood memories. Grandma reveals two more gifts for Xiaoyue: a special toy and a pair of shoes, both made with rooster feathers. Delighted, Xiaoyue walks around the city with Grandma showing off her presents as the rooster humorously follows, sparking nostalgia and goodwill throughout. Yu provides plenty of eye-popping illustrations, beautifully rendered in watercolor with detailed scenic views. The simple story concludes with Grandma and the rooster eventually returning home, with the promise that Xiaoyue and her parents will visit her for the next new year. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11.375-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 82.7% of actual size.)
A delightful Lunar New Year tale of love, family, and a rooster. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4788-6974-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Reycraft Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This multigenerational snuggle will encourage the sharing of old memories and the creation of new ones.
Hill and Bobbiesi send a humungous hug from grandmothers to their granddaughters everywhere.
Delicate cartoon art adds details to the rhyming text showing multigenerational commonalities. “You and I are alike in such wonderful ways. / You will see more and more as you grow” (as grandmother and granddaughter enjoy the backyard together); “I wobbled uncertainly just as you did / whenever I tried something new” (as a toddler takes first steps); “And if a bad dream woke me up in the night, / I snuggled up with my lovey too” (grandmother kisses granddaughter, who clutches a plush narwhal). Grandmother-granddaughter pairs share everyday joys like eating ice cream, dancing “in the rain,” and making “up silly games.” Although some activities skew stereotypically feminine (baking, yoga), a grandmother helps with a quintessential volcano experiment (this pair presents black, adding valuable STEM representation), another cheers on a young wheelchair athlete (both present Asian), and a third, wearing a hijab, accompanies her brown-skinned granddaughter on a peace march, as it is “important to speak out for what you believe.” The message of unconditional love is clear throughout: “When you need me, I’ll be there to listen and care. / There is nothing that keeps us apart.” The finished book will include “stationery…for a special letter from Grandma to you!”
This multigenerational snuggle will encourage the sharing of old memories and the creation of new ones. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-0623-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
A nicely inventive little morality “tail” for newly independent readers.
Two little rats decide to show the world how tough they are, with unpredictable results.
Louie and Ralphie Ratso want to be just like their single dad, Big Lou: tough! They know that “tough” means doing mean things to other animals, like stealing Chad Badgerton’s hat. Chad Badgerton is a big badger, so taking that hat from him proves that Louie and Ralphie are just as tough as they want to be. However, it turns out that Louie and Ralphie have just done a good deed instead of a bad one: Chad Badgerton had taken that hat from little Tiny Crawley, a mouse, so when Tiny reclaims it, they are celebrated for goodness rather than toughness. Sadly, every attempt Louie and Ralphie make at doing mean things somehow turns nice. What’s a little boy rat supposed to do to be tough? Plus, they worry about what their dad will say when he finds out how good they’ve been. But wait! Maybe their dad has some other ideas? LaReau keeps the action high and completely appropriate for readers embarking on chapter books. Each of the first six chapters features a new, failed attempt by Louie and Ralphie to be mean, and the final, seventh chapter resolves everything nicely. The humor springs from their foiled efforts and their reactions to their failures. Myers’ sprightly grayscale drawings capture action and characters and add humorous details, such as the Ratsos’ “unwelcome” mat.
A nicely inventive little morality “tail” for newly independent readers. (Fiction. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7636-0
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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