"Mean?" That's McBroom's opening word here, and before he's through regaling us with neighbor Heck Jones' cussedness, he's got the old pest laid up in his parlor, claiming a broken leg. It seems the only way to get Heck Jones out is for McBroom to agree to a footrace, with "my farm against yours" as the stake. And that's well and good except that Heck Jones shows up for the race on a mongrel beast he identifies as a jackalope, and McBroom has no choice but to mount his giant "bull chicken" Gertrude, who stops along the way to browse on cockleburs. Fleischman schedules the race at the end of a cold winter, so there are more complications—folks' shadows have been frozen to the ground all winter, and when Heck Jones goes back for his he puts on a wolf shadow by mistake. Then just as the shadow loses Heck Jones the race (never mind how), the new schoolhouse collapses because the nails he had sold the town to build it were really icicles, now melting in the general thaw. Fleischman seems to toss all these whoppers together without half trying. Let's hope he doesn't begin to run clown just when he's found Lorraine, whose kindergarten-style pictures match not only Fleischman's helter-skelter rusticity but his wit and high spirits as well.
Pub Date: April 1, 1980
ISBN: 0316285684
Page Count: 74
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: April 25, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1980
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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A young child explores the unlimited potential inherent in all humans.
“Have you ever wondered why you are here?” asks the second-person narration. There is no one like you. Maybe you’re here to make a difference with your uniqueness; maybe you will speak for those who can’t or use your gifts to shine a light into the darkness. The no-frills, unrhymed narrative encourages readers to follow their hearts and tap into their limitless potential to be anything and do anything. The precisely inked and colored artwork plays with perspective from the first double-page spread, in which the child contemplates a mountain (or maybe an iceberg) in their hands. Later, they stand on a ladder to place white spots on tall, red mushrooms. The oversized flora and fauna seem to symbolize the presumptively insurmountable, reinforcing the book’s message that anything is possible. This quiet read, with its sophisticated central question, encourages children to reach for their untapped potential while reminding them it won’t be easy—they will make messes and mistakes—but the magic within can help overcome falls and failures. It’s unlikely that members of the intended audience have begun to wonder about their life’s purpose, but this life-affirming mood piece has honorable intentions. The child, accompanied by an adorable piglet and sporting overalls and a bird-beaked cap made of leaves, presents white.
More gift book than storybook, this is a meaningful addition to nursery bookshelves . (Picture book. 2-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-946873-75-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: May 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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