Little spike-haired Selena so loves dance that her mother enrolls her in Miss Tutu’s ballet school, where she demonstrates passion and style but no grace. She learns her steps, studies hard and two years later makes her stage debut in a student recital. The story is told in AABB rhyming quatrains with occasional awkward scanning. The illustrations are colorful and portray a multicultural array of boys and girls engaged in something more akin to awkward but energetic physical movement than the more precise study of ballet steps. Selena’s round face and round derriere displayed in her stage bow after a performance that literally knocks over her fellow students are not likely to be seen in any serious ballet school, nor would a ballet teacher demonstrate standing on pointe to such little children. Selena’s constant mix-ups are balanced by her determination, an admirable quality but not one that would overcome her deficits in any real-world ballet situation. Pink glitter on the cover doesn’t quite elevate this to the level of necessary purchase. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8109-8396-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2010
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS
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A boy gets an unusual payoff after wishing on a star.
Sitting outside one night, Clyde notices a lone star in the sky. He recites the “Star light, star bright” incantation and makes a wish. Disappointed when it doesn’t come true, he returns home. But later, while he’s asleep, the star he’d wished on sneaks into his bedroom and makes a wish on him! Startled awake, Clyde wonders how to grant Star’s wish. He shares some ideas (and actual objects) with her: a game of checkers, tent camping, tossing a Frisbee, and walkie-talkies. Star likes them, but they’re not her wishes; Clyde confides there’s no one to enjoy them with—and wonders if perhaps Star had wished for a friend. No one will be surprised at what Clyde next confesses to Star. The pair winds up playing together and becoming besties. This is a sweet but thin and predictable story about making friends. Still, readers will appreciate meeting feisty, celestial Star. The author reaches for humor using colloquialisms (“freaked out”), and kids will like the comfortable familiarity that develops between the cheery protagonists. The colored-pencil illustrations are rendered in a limited palette of mostly dark blues and purples, appropriate to the nighttime setting. Star is a luminous, pale yellow with a white topknot and has a star-dappled aura around her. Purple-pj’d Clyde wears bunny slippers and presents White. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough, but its twinkle is on the faint side. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-399-17132-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: June 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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An expertly crafted, soulful, and humorous work that tenderly explores identity, culture, and the bond between father and...
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Thunder Boy Smith Jr. hates his name.
The Native American boy is named after his father, whose nickname is Big Thunder. Thunder Boy Jr. says his nickname, Little Thunder, makes him "sound like a burp or a fart." Little Thunder loves his dad, but he longs for a name that celebrates something special about him alone. He muses, “I love playing in the dirt, so maybe my name should be Mud in His Ears.…I love powwow dancing. I’m a grass dancer. So maybe my name should be Drums, Drums, and More Drums!” Little Thunder wonders how he can express these feelings to his towering father. However, he need not worry. Big Thunder knows that the time has come for his son to receive a new name, one as vibrant as his blossoming personality. Morales’ animated mixed-media illustrations, reminiscent of her Pura Belpré Award–winning work in Niño Wrestles the World (2013), masterfully use color and perspective to help readers see the world from Little Thunder’s point of view. His admiration of his dad is manifest in depictions of Big Thunder as a gentle giant of a man. The otherwise-muted palette bursts with color as Thunder Boy Jr. proudly enumerates the unique qualities and experiences that could inspire his new name.
An expertly crafted, soulful, and humorous work that tenderly explores identity, culture, and the bond between father and son. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-01372-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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