Review by New York Times Review
While tens of millions of viewers around the world are following the World Cup on television, the young boys in "Goal!" play a pickup game in a South African township that even more powerfully conveys a passion for "football." The boys play joyously in an alley (Ford's illustrations are brightly expressive, amid the dusty scene), while one keeps watch: "The streets are not safe," and the soccer ball is their prized possession. Sure enough, a meanlooking gang shows up to steal it, but this time the young players come out winners. THE VERY FAIRY PRINCESS By Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton. Illustrated by Christine Davenier. Little, Brown. $16.99. (Ages 3 to 6) Among all the princess picture books, this new one from Andrews and Hamilton - a mother-daughter team - offers a refreshingly different definition of "sparkle": Geraldine tells us she does "everything that fairy princesses do," including sliding down banisters and running for the bus ("scabs are the price you pay"). The message is that working hard in class, and sometimes getting a little carried away, can be part of being a princess too. THE HIVE DETECTIVES Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastrophe. By Loree Griffin Burns. Photographs by Ellen Harasimowicz. Houghton Mifflin. $18. (Ages 10 and up) In this new volume from the excellent "Scientists in the Field" series, Burns takes up the case of a die-off of millions of honey bees in 2006. As a commercial beekeeper explains, the concern about bees is not abstract - "Your food supply depends on them"; beekeepers transport hives to Florida and California to help pollinate fruit trees. The mystery is not completely solved here (the culprit could have been a virus, pesticides or large-scale beekeeping itself), but the potential risk is clear. A FABULOUS FAIR ALPHABET Written and illustrated by Debra Frasier. Beach Lane Books. $16.99. (All ages) This brightly painted and collaged ABC is also a homage to state fairs everywhere: "C" is for candy (in neon lights, red-and-white-striped and pink-puffed), and "W" is for an arcade win, milk bottles flying. Some letters are a little too hard to make out ("outstanding," for prize-winning cakes and pies, takes close study), and that may limit the book's usefulness to alphabet newcomers. But the way Frasier brings to life a jaunty Ferris wheel, a sunburst-yellow pitcher of lemonade and a swirling roller coaster will nevertheless whet appetites for summer. THE QUIET BOOK By Deborah Underwood. Illustrated by Renata Liwska, Houghton Mifflin. $12.95. (Ages 3 to 5) "There are many kinds of quiet: First one awake quiet; jelly side down quiet; don't scare the robin quiet." Underwood's gently humorous text follows the same simple pattern throughout, accompanied by Liwska's penciled illustrations of some fuzzy animal characters (in an appropriately hushed palette). Not all is completely muted. A comical image shows the animals driving along, windblown, through a snowstorm in a convertible - "car ride at night quiet." Sort of. PICTURE THE DEAD By Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown. Fire/Sourcebooks. $17.99. (Ages 12 and up) Brown's striking portraits, drawings displayed throughout as though in a photo album, animate this artful Civil War-era novel. Jennie, 16 years old and an orphan, is left without prospects when Will, her fiancé, dies on the battlefield : his mother is her reluctant guardian, and makes it clear she is no longer welcome in the house. With the aid of a spirit photographer, Jennie attempts to get to the bottom of a mystery: How exactly did Will die, and why does she keep having such horrible dreams? The story is engrossing and the period details an added pleasure. JULIE JUST
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [June 20, 2010]
Review by Booklist Review
Frasier shows that there is a dizzying array of words to be found amid the visual cacophony of the fairgrounds. Using an abecedarian format, she presents common sights and experiences at a county or state fair, pairing each letter with a word that fits into a common category, such as signs ( eXit ), objects ( Holstein ), activities ( Eat Everything ), and a viewer's reaction ( Unbelievable ). Some form of explanatory notes would have provided helpful context, especially for children who have never been to a fair. The illustrations are eye-catching, though. Paper-collage scenes mix with photographed letters, in a variety of boldly colored fonts, which are cut and pasted in a style that suggests ransom notes. In each busy spread, the featured letter appears many times (the letter A shows up more than 80 times on the opening spread, for example), creating an interactive find-and-seek game as children try to spot and count each one. For slightly older kids, suggest Ted Lewin's Fair (1997).--Medlar, Andrew Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Frasier (A Birthday Cake Is No Ordinary Cake) has hold of a terrific idea: find photographic examples of all 26 letters of the alphabet amid the garish typography of state fairs. Many of the letters are studded with light bulbs; others suggest the plumpness of a corn dog, or, like a fast-talking carnival hawker, hold out the promise of an unforgettable experience with extravagant serifs, racy scripts, or jaunty two-tone coloring. Frasier then uses the letters in thematic collages-paired with images of fairgoers, animals, and souvenirs-that celebrate aspects of the fair that begin with each letter. Thus Fs become the seats on a Ferris wheel and Ss stand in for children on a giant wavy slide. Visually, the colorful and cluttered spreads evoke the energy of the fair (particularly a "midway nights" spread against a royal blue sky). However, the letters often feel like confetti, rather than being intrinsic to the scenes. "Yawning" and "Zucchini" are a fairly anticlimactic end to the book, but there's at least a hint of the smells and tastes of funnel cakes and cotton candy to be found. All ages. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 6-This alphabet book is not just about words that begin with the 26 letters; it's also a graphic display of the myriad fonts found at a fair. Pages display many samples for each letter, both upper and lowercase, with one subject per letter. For example, "B" shows a bold red outline of a BARN and a black silhouette of a horse at the door with the structure filled with collage-style Bs. Despite the flat graphic style, the pages seem to sparkle and blink with the bright lights of a midway. The endpapers are bold collages of photos of signs at fairs. As alphabet books go, this one is delightful. As graphic art goes, it's alive with evocative, almost magical examples. Readers will be delighted with the images of fun and games, rides and blue ribbons, food and prizes. Pair this book with Lisa Campbell Ernst's The Turn-Around, Upside-Down Alphabet Book (S & S, 2004) or David Pelletier's The Graphic Alphabet (Scholastic, 1996) to introduce children to the delights of shapes and fonts. Introduce basic design concepts with books such as Mark Gonyea's A Book About Design: Complicated Doesn't Make It Good (Holt, 2005) or other graphically illustrated titles such as those by Lois Ehlert or Linnea Riley.-Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Warren & Waldoboro, ME (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Cotton candy, Ferris wheels, Holsteins, lemonade, games, tractors, and more--this lively and colorful alphabet book brings to life the sights, smells, tastes, and sounds of a fun-filled day at the fair. Photographs of fancy and light-adorned letters of fair midway signs happily decorate the pages and also spell out the labels for the intricate primary-colored collages. Energetic dot patterns mimic the lights. Copyright 2010 of The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
For kids who have never been to a country fair, this montage of alphabet letters in various graphic styles that represent items and impressions of a fair may, like a first-time midway experience, be sensory overload. The intentionally frenetic page design is a visual cacophony of primary colors that pop on white backgrounds. The flat dimension of the vividly colored collages, created primarily from photographs Frasier took of letters on signs at a fair, creates a poster-like effect. Many word choices will not surprise either fairgoers or alphabet-book loversQ for quilts, C for cotton candy, T for tractor. Others are a stretchD for dill pickle, O for outstanding (depicted as blue-ribbon winners of baked goods), U for unbelievable (sideshow acts), V for vegetables and Z for zucchini (a mother holds her blue ribbon while her son sleeps beside her). X is for eXit. At their very best, the compositions are downright inspired: Linked Rs in a variety of styles zoom up and down the roller coaster. All together, this themed abecedary whirls like a Ferris wheel. (Picture book. 7-10)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
