In gorgeous folk-art–style oil-and-pencil illustrations, Korean-born Heo translates the oft-weighty anticipation of an overseas adoption into a young Asian-American girl’s literal countdown to the arrival of her little sister. The girl first marks a red circle on her calendar at May 10: “I have ten days and nine nights.” Then, she and her father say goodbye to her mother at the airport: “I have nine days and eight nights.” So continues the countdown. The many wordless spreads and spare text allow ample room for—and may demand—more in-depth discussion, as the book focuses solely on preparations for welcoming a new baby and not on any emotional aspects of a child confronted with a new sibling, such as, say, fear and loathing. The depictions of the Korean adoption office, the foster home and the airplane trip home—all in a contrastingly blue-hued palette—will help children demystify the parts of the baby-fetching process they missed out on. Unfortunately, this visually pleasing offering still misses its mark. (author’s note) (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: May 12, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-375-84718-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
At her best, Rylant’s (The Ticky-Tacky Doll, below, etc.) sweetness and sentiment fills the heart; in this outing, however, sentimentality reigns and the end result is pretty gooey. Pandora keeps a lighthouse: her destiny is to protect ships at sea. She’s lonely, but loves her work. She rescues Seabold and heals his broken leg, and he stays on to mend his shipwrecked boat. This wouldn’t be so bad but Pandora’s a cat and Seabold a dog, although they are anthropomorphized to the max. Then the duo rescue three siblings—mice!—and make a family together, although Rylant is careful to note that Pandora and Seabold each have their own room. Choosing what you love, caring for others, making a family out of love, it is all very well, but this capsizes into silliness. Formatted to look like the start of a new series. Oh, dear. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-689-84880-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2002
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