A father’s lullaby to his young son imagines his affection in figurative language.
“If my love were an elephant, / it would stomp from tree to tree. / And if my love were a great blue whale, / it would splash across the sea.” From a rocket ship blasting off and a marching band whose drums “crash and boom” to a bucking bronco and a lion’s thundering roar, the text describes where and how this dad’s love for his son might manifest. The boldly colored mixed-media illustrations show the duo (both pale-skinned and black-haired) in each situation: knights in armor roasting marshmallows behind a shield that protects them from a dragon’s fiery breath or divers discovering a treasure chest on the ocean floor. Most of the rhymes scan well, though the text ends rather suddenly: “If my love were a firework, / it would blast long past this song. // And if my love were a big bear hug, / it would snuggle you all night long.” The visual here is much more satisfying than the words, as the two are fast asleep, smiles on their faces, child lying atop father, each with an arm around the other. Readers are likely to wish for the music to go with the verses.
An opening for parent-child pairs to use their own imaginations to see where love will take them. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-93740-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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The team of Costain and Lovšin (Daddies are Awesome, 2016) gives moms their due.
Rhyming verses tell of all the ways moms are amazing: “Mommies are magic. / They kiss away troubles… // …find gold in the sunlight / and rainbows in bubbles.” Moms are joyful—the best playmates. They are also fearless and will protect and soothe if you are scared. Clever moms know just what to do when you’re sad, sporty moms run and leap and climb, while tender moms cuddle. “My mommy’s so special. / I tell her each day… // … just how much I love her / in every way!” Whereas dads were illustrated with playful pups and grown-up dogs in the previous book, moms are shown as cats with their kittens in myriad colors, sizes, and breeds. Lovšin’s cats look as though they are smiling at each other in their fun, though several spreads are distractingly cut in half by the gutter. However delightful the presentation—the verse rolls fairly smoothly, and the cats are pretty cute—the overall effect is akin to a cream puff’s: very sweet and insubstantial.
A $16.99 Mother’s Day card for cat lovers. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62779-651-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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Turkey’s political situation is often in the news, but this book focuses mostly on the everyday life of a young child in Istanbul.
The English text is in a clear, Roman typeface, with alternating Turkish paragraphs set in italics. The story is bookended by morning and evening calls to prayer, when Mehmet, about 6, remarks on how the light falls on the mosque minarets at each time of day. The family is not shown praying, however, and Mehmet attends a coed secular school. “Some of Mama’s friends wear headscarves. Mama doesn’t. She says there are many paths to Allah.” The day’s highlight is a fishing trip with his brother and father. Mehmet notices “a boy my size with his mother.” They are not speaking Turkish, and the child “looks sad and hungry.” A contemporary issue creeps into the text as Mehmet’s father explains “that there are many refugees here in Istanbul.” Mehmet generously gives the boy his fishing rod. Later, Mehmet goes roller-skating at the plaza surrounding a neighborhood mosque and watches a soccer game on TV. An afterword for older readers provides some historical facts and explanations about figures mentioned in the text such as Rumi and Atatürk. Adult readers not familiar with Turkish history may wish this had been integrated directly into the text. The collages place rather static human figures assembled from cut paper and with drawn-on details into photographic backgrounds that give a sense of depth and place.
Emphasizing daily commonalities, this is a useful book on urban Turkish culture. (afterword, glossary) (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-935874-34-8
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Satya House
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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