A rosy take on selfhood.
Pink has an identity crisis.
When Pink (an anthropomorphic pink shape with stick arms and legs, wearing cowboy boots and a unicorn horn) hears about the Rainbow Extravaganza from the Primaries and the Secondaries, she wonders why she’s never been involved before. “This is awkward,” frets Orange as Pink confronts the fact that although the others don’t mean to exclude her out of cruelty, she doesn’t belong in the color spectrum. Pink departs and encounters a group of Tints. Next, color theory intertwines with narrative to teach readers about relationships between colors: Text spoken by Brown (who later identifies themselves as a Shade, or a color mixed with black) explains that Tints are colors mixed with white and that Pink belongs to that group along with Coral, Mint, Lavender, Buttercup, and Sky. Despite Brown’s efforts, however, Pink is still having a “midcolor crisis,” but then Gray, an achromatic color and the protagonist of Ward’s earlier title This Book Is Gray, provides reassurance, saying, “Well, you’re definitely a color in my book,” cleverly alluding to Pink’s cameo appearance in that picture book while also supporting her struggle to define herself in this one. With Gray’s help, Pink embraces her Tint identity, saying, “I’m a happy color. And happiness is for everyone.” Who could argue with that? Ward’s cast of colors, pink-cheeked and wearing accessories, speak in color-coded speech bubbles; appropriately, pink hues dominate the exuberant art. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A rosy take on selfhood. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2686-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Two Lions
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of...
An international story tackles a serious global issue with Reynolds’ characteristic visual whimsy.
Gie Gie—aka Princess Gie Gie—lives with her parents in Burkina Faso. In her kingdom under “the African sky, so wild and so close,” she can tame wild dogs with her song and make grass sway, but despite grand attempts, she can neither bring the water closer to home nor make it clean. French words such as “maintenant!” (now!) and “maman” (mother) and local color like the karite tree and shea nuts place the story in a French-speaking African country. Every morning, Gie Gie and her mother perch rings of cloth and large clay pots on their heads and walk miles to the nearest well to fetch murky, brown water. The story is inspired by model Georgie Badiel, who founded the Georgie Badiel Foundation to make clean water accessible to West Africans. The details in Reynolds’ expressive illustrations highlight the beauty of the West African landscape and of Princess Gie Gie, with her cornrowed and beaded hair, but will also help readers understand that everyone needs clean water—from the children of Burkina Faso to the children of Flint, Michigan.
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of potable water. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-17258-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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