An ambiguous ending makes this book truly haunting—and vital.
The lives of a hornet and a boy unexpectedly intertwine in this vividly illustrated, unusual glimpse of child labor at a coal yard.
Translated into English from its original Portuguese by Hahn, Brazilian Hans Christian Andersen Award–winning author/illustrator Mello’s enigmatic text addresses the humanitarian and environmental stakes of charcoal production. A primarily black-and-white color palette sets a somber tone, while die-cut pages shaped to resemble tongues of orange, pink, and red flame echo the collaged endpapers evoking clusters of embers and ashes. Told in distinct, titled fragments from the hornet’s perspective, the sometimes frustratingly abstruse text offers readers just enough visual and verbal information to construct meaning. The hornet, who guards a larva in its mud nest on a charcoal mound, addresses readers in deceptively plain language peppered with descriptive words and repeated phrases. Skin color is mentioned only in reference to an albino boy, depicted with bright white skin, who struggles to hide from the labor inspectors among the charcoal while the first boy, depicted with dark skin does not. The only named character is the albino boy, whom the hornet christens, unoriginally and somewhat insensitively, “Albi.” The book’s format and Mello’s professional background suggest children are its intended audience, but it’s difficult to envision any child engaging with this book without adult scaffolding. The text is more poetic than informational, and it does not include references for further reading. Still, for those readers who wrestle with it, it’s an unforgettable experience.
An ambiguous ending makes this book truly haunting—and vital. (Picture book. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-939810-19-9
Page Count: 46
Publisher: Elsewhere Editions
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
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