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WHEN PENCIL MET THE MARKERS

From the When Pencil Met Eraser series

Conceptually murky, visually dull.

A group of pens banishes one of their own in this companion to When Pencil Met Eraser (2019).

All members of this pack of markers love to color, but Purple’s technique stands out. Purple colors “everywhere”—“all over the place.” This means several things: Going outside the lines of the coloring book these markers seem to inhabit; coloring in entire scenes purple, including things that aren’t naturally purple, like a dolphin; and adding shapes or ideas that weren’t invited by the pre-drawn outlines, such as dots to a rainbow or a face to a hot air balloon. Huffily, the marker group ejects Purple. Purple meets an outsider—or two outsiders, for what first looks like a pencil with two faces is in fact a pencil with a ride-atop eraser who sometimes hops off. The pencil and Purple supposedly create a whole new approach that satisfies everyone and enables group reconciliation. Blanco’s uninspired illustrations (pencil, marker, and digital) give areas colored by the step-in-line markers a rote smoothness that evokes machine coloring, not child-applied color. The improvised, collaborative technique finds Purple making abstract shapes that the pencil transforms into realistic objects, so while Purple does get to color free of outlines, the rule still privileges realism. Tepid prose—“There are no mistakes, only happy accidents!”—is further slowed by an odd choice of placing an ellipsis in the middle of sentences that cross a spread.

Conceptually murky, visually dull. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: July 21, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-250-30940-2

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Imprint

Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020

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CINDERELLA

From the Once Upon a World series

A nice but not requisite purchase.

A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.

Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.

A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)

Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017

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IN THE SKY AT NIGHTTIME

A tender bedtime tale set in a too-seldom-seen northern world.

A quiet book for putting young children to bed in a state of snowy wonder.

The magic of the north comes alive in a picture book featuring Inuit characters. In the sky at nighttime, snow falls fast. / … / In the sky at nighttime, a raven roosts atop a tall building. / … / In the sky at nighttime, a mother’s delicate song to her child arises like a gentle breeze.” With the repetition of the simple, titular refrain, the author envisions what happens in a small town at night: Young children see their breath in the cold; a hunter returns on his snowmobile; the stars dazzle in the night sky. A young mother rocks her baby to sleep with a song and puts the tot down with a trio of stuffed animals: hare, polar bear, seal. The picture book evokes a feeling of peace as the street lamps, northern lights, and moon illuminate the snow. The illustrations are noteworthy for the way they meld the old world with what it looks like to be a modern Indigenous person: A sled dog and fur-lined parkas combine easily with the frame houses, a pickup truck, power lines, and mobile-hung crib. By introducing Indigenous characters in an unremarkably familiar setting, the book reaches children who don’t always see themselves in an everyday context.

A tender bedtime tale set in a too-seldom-seen northern world. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-77227-238-3

Page Count: 36

Publisher: Inhabit Media

Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019

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