This book’s rallying cry to “CONQUER EVERYTHING!” will ring true for small warriors-to-be.
Tiny has always been small, but he wasn’t a barbarian until earlier today. While out with his well-meaning parents (who make the mistake of telling him he can be anything he wants when he grows up), young Tiny spots something. An advertisement for a film about a barbarian gives Tiny a purpose. Merrily he constructs his own barbarian outfit—a horned colander is key—and proceeds to lay siege to the dragon (hose), troll (trash can), and giant broccoli (shrub) in the backyard. But fighting monsters during the day is one thing. Can Tiny now overcome his fear of the dark? Or is this the end of his warrior ways? With its joyous battle cries and subtle repeated beats, this story makes for a rollicking read-aloud. Spires imbues Tiny with as much, if not more, personality and vibe as any of the fantastical creatures that dot these pages. Other visual elements, like the dad cooking and taking on bedtime duty, eschew the usual stereotypes. Consider pairing with Great, Now We’ve Got Barbarians, by Jason Carter Eaton and illustrated by Mark Fearing (2017), for a truly tough storytime. Tiny’s dad presents White, and Tiny himself and his mom have slightly darker skin.
Prepare for the hearts of your kids to be conquered once and for all. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-288164-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION
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Feminism for the piratically inclined.
Fitzgerald and Barrager give the old chestnut of a girl who’s turned away from a boys’ fort due to her gender alone a piratical twist. After CeCe’s initial disappointment, she vows to get advice from the only true pirate she knows: her grandfather. Game to give his granddaughter a 101 in how to be the best possible scurvy dog, he uses each of his tattoos to extol a virtue such as bravery or speed. As in Alison McGhee and Eliza Wheeler’s Tell Me a Tattoo Story (2016), body art becomes the inspiration for any number of adventures and aphorisms, ending with the most important lesson: love. Readers may note that few of these flights of fancy have much to do with pirates specifically. Nevertheless, an emboldened CeCe returns to the boys and successfully owns her piratude. The ending is more than a bit optimistic, as CeCe gains admission simply by redeclaring intentions with a smidgen more chutzpah. Would that misogyny always rolled over so easily. Happily, Fitzgerald’s tale is accompanied by the rollicking vibrancy of Barrager’s art. Reality pales (literally) in the face of the imagination, with a clever tonal shift to a brighter, more saturated palette indicating CeCe’s determination. CeCe and Grandpa both present white; the boys who initially snub her display a range of skin colors and hair textures.
While thar be precious little piracy visible in this, its feminist themes are strong. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68119-778-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Nov. 5, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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What to do when you’re a prickly animal hankering for a hug? Why, find another misfit animal also searching for an embrace!
Sweet but “tricky to hug” little Hedgehog is down in the dumps. Wandering the forest, Hedgehog begs different animals for hugs, but each rejects them. Readers will giggle at their panicked excuses—an evasive squirrel must suddenly count its three measly acorns; a magpie begins a drawn-out song—but will also be indignant on poor hedgehog’s behalf. Hedgehog has the appealingly pink-cheeked softness typical of Dunbar’s art, and the gentle watercolors are nonthreatening, though she also captures the animals’ genuine concern about being poked. A wise owl counsels the dejected hedgehog that while the prickles may frighten some, “there’s someone for everyone.” That’s when Hedgehog spots a similarly lonely tortoise, rejected due to its “very hard” shell but perfectly matched for a spiky new friend. They race toward each other until the glorious meeting, marked with swoony peach swirls and overjoyed grins. At this point, readers flip the book to hear the same gloomy tale from the tortoise’s perspective until it again culminates in that joyous hug, a book turn that’s made a pleasure with thick creamy paper and solid binding.
Watching unlikely friends finally be as “happy as two someones can be” feels like being enveloped in your very own hug. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-571-34875-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Review Posted Online: Jan. 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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