In this supersized Where’s Waldo?–style French import, cutaway views teem with tiny figures and silly business.
The brain-bending bustle begins “Inside Buildings,” with a row of apartment houses festooned with hundreds of residents in over 50 rooms, on the street, and up on the roofs. Tenacious searchers are challenged to spot 50 particular items or people, but there’s a lot more to see: here a fire; there a flood; elsewhere Peter Pan swooping in to pick up Wendy, a marriage proposal, a tattoo artist at work, two gents sharing a hot tub under the stars, a living room concert, parties, pet chases, and more. The action continues in eight further populous locales, from “Inside the Hospital” to “Inside the Library,” with 10 recurring figures—including a potted plant with a face and a bodybuilder in a thong—to add to new items. The big-headed, toylike tiny humans are all roughly the same size, so children and grown-ups are often indistinguishable, and though most are white, many have light or dark brown skin, and some appear to be Asian.
Unwieldy but consistently (amazingly, considering the square footage) inventive in scenarios and details. Bring a magnifier and a bottle of Visine. (Novelty. 4-10)Pub Date: July 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-2-7338-4684-1
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Auzou Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 7, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
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A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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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