An enjoyable and colorful tale that may have young readers wishing for musical accompaniment.
Rand’s musical characters turn their daily routines into a performance in this children’s picture book with illustrations by Maco.
Squish and Squeam are adorable twin sloths who love to sing. The story follows a day in the life of the siblings and their mother, featuring daily routines told through song. Beginning with “Good morning, good morning / get ready to start your day. / Good morning, good morning, / Let’s get up to play!” and ending with “Bedtime… bedtime… / let’s sing a sleepy song. / Bedtime… bedtime… / Sweet dreams / all night long,” the characters have a fun and unique song for nearly every occasion, including breakfast, bathtime, and playtime. The book was inspired by the author’s own children, according to the dedication, and it offers a realistic but consistently endearing look at an average day for youngsters. The story itself is basic, but its slow pace and repetition will likely work well to calm young readers. Maco’s full-color cartoon illustrations are colorful and eye-catching, and they’re sure to draw the attention of preschoolers. Overall, the cute, fuzzy characters and easy-to-follow plot will make it an ideal bedtime story.
An enjoyable and colorful tale that may have young readers wishing for musical accompaniment.Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2024
ISBN: 9798218405496
Page Count: 26
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
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. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
An invitation to wonder, imagine and look at everything (humans included) in a new way.
A young boy sees things a little differently than others.
Noah can see patterns in the dust when it sparkles in the sunlight. And if he puts his nose to the ground, he can smell the “green tang of the ants in the grass.” His most favorite thing of all, however, is to read. Noah has endless curiosity about how and why things work. Books open the door to those answers. But there is one question the books do not explain. When the wind comes whistling by, where does it go? Noah decides to find out. In a chase that has a slight element of danger—wind, after all, is unpredictable—Noah runs down streets, across bridges, near a highway, until the wind lifts him off his feet. Cowman’s gusty wisps show each stream of air turning a different jewel tone, swirling all around. The ribbons gently bring Noah home, setting him down under the same thinking tree where he began. Did it really happen? Worthington’s sensitive exploration leaves readers with their own set of questions and perhaps gratitude for all types of perspective. An author’s note mentions children on the autism spectrum but widens to include all who feel a little different.
An invitation to wonder, imagine and look at everything (humans included) in a new way. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-60554-356-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Redleaf Lane
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
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