A helpful reminder that honesty truly is the best policy.
A lie threatens to overwhelm young Finn.
Finn and his sister, Simone, are excited to spend several days at Grandma’s house, which is full of “wonderful, beautiful but VERY fragile things.” While bouncing his ball in the house, Finn accidentally breaks Grandma’s clock. Rather than telling the truth, he tells her that Simone broke it. All weekend long, the lies pile up until finally he comes clean. Percival cleverly illustrates the weight of Finn’s fibs. After he tells his first one, a little blob appears, visible only to him. With each new lie, another blob appears. The blobs make it hard for Finn to snuggle up on the sofa with Grandma and Simone or for him to enjoy his picnic lunch. Once Finn tells the whole truth, however, the blobs pop and disappear, relieving him of their heavy presence. This is an incredibly effective metaphor to help young children understand how lying feels and how it can weigh us down. Percival makes lovely use of color, the vibrant blobs contrasting against the more muted backgrounds. Grandma is a reassuring, affirming presence; little ones will come away aware of the importance of telling the truth. Finn and Simone present Black, while their grandmother presents white. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A helpful reminder that honesty truly is the best policy. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9781547612932
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2023
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A disappointing follow-up.
Inventor Izzy Gizmo is back in this sequel to her eponymous debut (2017).
While busily inventing one day, Izzy receives an invitation from the Genius Guild to their annual convention. Though Izzy’s “inventions…don’t always work,” Grandpa (apparently her sole caregiver) encourages her to go. The next day they undertake a long journey “over fields, hills, and waves” and “mile after mile” to isolated Technoff Isle. There, Izzy finds she must compete against four other kids to create the most impressive machine. The colorful, detail-rich illustrations chronicle how poor Izzy is thwarted at every turn by Abi von Lavish, a Veruca Salt–esque character who takes all the supplies for herself. But when Abi abandons her project, Izzy salvages the pieces and decides to take Grandpa’s advice to create a machine that “can really be put to good use.” A frustrated Izzy’s impatience with a friend almost foils her chance at the prize, but all’s well that ends well. There’s much to like: Brown-skinned inventor girl Izzy is an appealing character, it’s great to see a nurturing brown-skinned male caregiver, the idea of an “Invention Convention” is fun, and a sustainable-energy invention is laudable. However, these elements don’t make up for rhymes that often feel forced and a lackluster story.
A disappointing follow-up. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68263-164-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
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