In 1950s Glen Allan, Mississippi, Little Cliff is introduced to the wider world by a map and an enthusiastic teacher. When she tells her students about Alaska, Cliff is enthralled. He’s also absolutely convinced that he and Poppa Joe can drive there easily. After all, he could trace the distance on the map with his fingers. When Poppa Joe convinces Cliff that Alaska is really too far for a drive, he finds a way to console him and to bring Alaska to him. An old friend shows them pictures from his Navy days in Alaska and lends him a fur-trimmed parka. Another old friend gives them access to an icehouse that Poppa Joe turns into an Alaskan experience complete with ice fishing. Little Cliff is a delightful, inquisitive child surrounded by the warmth and love of a remarkable multigenerational family—Poppa Joe and Mama Pearl are his great-grandparents. Friendships are long term and colorblind. Cliff’s family and Brother Cleve, the icehouse owner, are African-American and Mr. Jacob is white and Jewish. Lewis’s illustrations are full of light and joy. They perfectly capture each character and beautifully complement the text. This is Taulbert’s third Little Cliff offering (Little Cliff Goes to School, 2001; Little Cliff and the Porch People, 1999), each based on a childhood memory. It’s to be hoped there will be many more to come. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-8037-2558-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2002
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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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 4, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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This tale of self-acceptance and respect for one’s roots is breathtaking.
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A young Chinese American girl sees more than the shape of her eyes.
In this circular tale, the unnamed narrator observes that some peers have “eyes like sapphire lagoons / with lashes like lace trim on ballgowns,” but her eyes are different. She “has eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea.” Author Ho’s lyrical narrative goes on to reveal how the girl’s eyes are like those of other women and girls in her family, expounding on how each pair of eyes looks and what they convey. Mama’s “eyes sparkl[e] like starlight,” telling the narrator, “I’m a miracle. / In those moments when she’s all mine.” Mama’s eyes, the girl observes, take after Amah’s. While she notes that her grandmother’s eyes “don’t work like they used to,” they are able to see “all the way into my heart” and tell her stories. Here, illustrator Ho’s spreads bloom with references to Chinese stories and landscapes. Amah’s eyes are like those of the narrator’s little sister. Mei-Mei’s eyes are filled with hope and with admiration for her sister. Illustrator Ho’s textured cartoons and clever use of light and shadow exude warmth and whimsy that match the evocative text. When the narrator comes to describe her own eyes and acknowledges the power they hold, she is posed against swirling patterns, figures, and swaths of breathtaking landscapes from Chinese culture. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
This tale of self-acceptance and respect for one’s roots is breathtaking. (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-291562-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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