Review by New York Times Review
These enchanting tales include a magical wolf, a rampaging bunny and the latest from Sandra Boynton. HERE, GEORGE! By Sandra Boynton. Illustrated by George Booth The iconic cartoonist Booth sketched a nervous, lovable-looking dog as a gift to Boynton. She turned it into one of her famously funny, perfectly calibrated board books, spinning a droll story about a pup who won't get up - or so his owners think. 32 pp. Simon & Schuster. $7.99. Ages 0 to 5. CIRCLE ROLLS By Barbara Kanninen. Illustrated by Serge Bloch. In this delightful sneak-lesson in geometry, physics, and helping your friends when they're in a jam, some colorful shapes have a bang-up time when Circle starts rolling. In Bloch's minimalist, loose-limbed pen-and-ink art, tiny people try valiantly to pitch in, too. 32 pp. Phaidon. $16.95. Ages 3 to 5. BIG BUNNY Written and illustrated by Rowboat Watkins. Watkins ("Rude Cakes") conjures another homey yet mind-bending story in this bedtime tale about an enormous rabbit, regularsized carrots, some trucker penguins and bus-driving giraffes. The infectious fun continues to the ending, which will be - trust me - a giant, hilarious surprise to both parents and kids. 32 pp. Chronicle. $16.99. Ages 3 to 7. A HOUSE THAT ONCE WAS By Julie Fogliano. Illustrated by Lane Smith. Two kids walking in the woods find an abandoned house. Who lived there? What happened? Accompanied by Lane's evocative art that suggests layers of history, Fogliano's story turns this childhood scenario into a radiant poem about the mysteries of other people and the wonderfulness of home. 42 pp. Roaring Brook. $18.99. Ages 3 to 7. FOREVER OR A DAY Written and illustrated by Sarah Jacoby. In Jacoby's elegant debut, time is both a riddle and a poem: "Perhaps it is a ghost/ it can come and go/ and you never even notice it was there," she writes. Her soft illustrations, in lovely sunrise, sunset and moonlight colors, capture both wide-open spaces and the enduring bonds of family love. 40 pp. Chronicle. $17.99. Ages 3 to 7. MOON Written and illustrated by Alison Oliver. Oliver's picture book debut channels "Where the Wild Things Are" for the hovered-over modern child. Moon, a little girl with a big to-do list, wonders, "What would it feel like to be free?" A wolf arrives to whisk her away to a magical forest where she plays, listens, howls - and becomes an independent kid, keeping her "wolty ways," including (gasp) standing on a swing. 40 pp. Clarion. $17.99. Ages 4 to 7. JEROME BY HEART By Thomas Scotto. Illustrated by Olivier Tallec. It's rare to find a book about friendship between boys this heartfelt. His parents scoff at the intensity of it all, but Raphael wants to spend every minute with Jerome - his school-trip buddy, his defender against mean kids, the friend who always makes him laugh. Both the words and the sweet illustrations capture the spirit behind childhood bonds. 32 pp. Enchanted Lion. $16.95. Ages 4 to 8. RED SKY AT NIGHT Written and illustrated by Elly MacKay Each page of this beautifully designed book has an old-fashioned saying about the weather ("When ladybugs swarm, expect a day that's warm"). With Mac Kay's dreamy cut-paper collage art featuring two siblings exploring outdoors, the old-fashioned approach to weather is oddly reassuring. 40 pp. Tundra. $17.99. Ages 4 to 8. RESCUE & JESSICA: A LIFE-CHANGING FRIENDSHIP By Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes. Illustrated by Scott Magoon. Kensky, who lost both legs after the Boston Marathon bombing, despaired until Rescue, a service dog, arrived to help her navigate life with prosthetics. This sensitively told version- written with her husband, who also lost a leg in the bombing - highlights her relationship with the gallant Rescue. 32 pp. Candlewick. $16.99. Ages 5 to 9. THE DRAGON SLAYER: FOLKTALES FROM LATIN AMERICA Written and illustrated by Jaime Hernandez Hernandez, one of the brothers behind the Love and Rockets comic strip, adapts and updates three Latin American folk tales into a graphic-novel format. The buoyant results will delight all ages. A kitchen maid slays a dragon and marries a prince; a vain woman marries a mouse, with bad results; a boy cast out as lazy proves the logic of his approach. There's also fascinating historical material on the origins of each tale. 48 pp. TOON Books. $16.95. Ages 6 to 12. MARIA RUSSO is the children's books editor of the Book Review.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [August 30, 2019]
Review by Booklist Review
This collection of three beloved Latin American folktales is charmingly illustrated in Hernandez's iconic style. The first is the collection's namesake, about a mighty girl who was cast out by jealous sisters, finds her way to a kingdom, falls in love with the prince, and, in a delightful turn of events, saves him by slaying a many-headed dragon. The second, Martina Martinez and Perez the Mouse, might be known to many as Cucarachita Martina, a story about a vain woman (or roach, in some versions) who doesn't know how to save her husband when he falls into a pot of soup. The last, Tup and the Ants, goes to show that laziness isn't necessarily a bad thing, if you're resourceful. All three fables have a moral, of course, and the informative back matter contains a note and glossary informing readers about folktales and storytelling practices over the years. This beautifully designed collection, with amiable art in lovely full color, is perfect for bedtime read-aloud or a lesson on traditional folktales.--Pino, Kristina Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-This is the first children's book by groundbreaking comic artist Jaime Hernandez, one of the three Hernandez brothers responsible for the comic "Love and Rockets." Readers will most likely skip over the old-fashioned, didactic introduction by F. Isabel Campoy on the power of folktales to get to the fun part, and what fun it is. In "The Dragon Slayer," a resourceful farm girl refuses to let a seven-headed dragon interfere with her plans of marriage to a prince. "Martina Martinez and Perez the Mouse" centers on a foolish young bride who, when her mouse husband falls into a pot of soup, cries instead of rescuing him. And in "Tup and the Ants," a lazy young man goes far on his wits and ability to get others to do his work. Hernandez's colorful, expressive drawings are full of movement, helping the stories extend beyond the concise, direct text. As so often happens in folktales, humans and animals exist on the same plane, adding to the whimsy. A brief discussion of the three selections closes out each volume. VERDICT These delightfully rendered stories should easily find a home in the folktale/fairy-tale section of any library.-Lucia Acosta, Children's Literature Specialist, Princeton, NJ © Copyright 2018. 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
Three amusing and enlightening folktales full of action, magic tricks, and fantasy are presented in a spirited and lively comic-book format (simultaneously published in Spanish as La Matadragones: Cuentos de Latinoamerica, translated from the English by Maria E. Santana). In the titular story, a resourceful young lady stops at nothing (not even taking on a seven-headed dragon) to get what she wants. Martina Martinez and Perez the Mouse is an engaging new take (written by Alma Flor Ada) on the traditional tale that serves as a reminder of the common sense of the doas, adult women in Latinx communities. In Tup and the Ants we meet a lazy young man who outwits his older brother with his cleverness. Folktales can transcend space and time and, as this title proves, genres too. The (mostly) six-panel pages feature expressive characters and colorful tones that add to the playfulness of the stories. An introduction by F. Isabel Campoy places the tales in the context of the folktale traditions of the Americas; comprehensive back matter provides primary sources, a bibliography, and contextual facts. alicia k. long (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A trio of Latin American folktales are given a makeover in the children's-book debut of one of the brothers behind famed graphic-novel series Love and Rockets.In the three stories, a young girl proves her smarts and bravery, not to mention her skills as a dragon slayer; a woman named Martina Martnez marries a mouse, which leads to an unexpected tragedy; and a boy named Tup considered lazy by his family finds a way to feed them all. In his six-panel pages, Hernandez flexes his considerable storytelling skills, his deceptively simple art conveying all the detail, nuance, and expression of character each story needs. The protagonist of the first tale is unnamed, which becomes ironic given how much agency she employs to get to the future her selfless acts should earn her. In the second piece, an older woman turns out to be the hero by simply practicing common sense that everyone else has forgotten. And in the final story, it's cleverness that saves the day. In addition to the tales themselves, the book opens with an on-point essay by author F. Isabel Campoy putting the mix of Spanish and Native American influences in context. It closes with brief histories and art influences for each story as well as English- and Spanish-language phrases to help readers start telling their own. Mara E. Santana's simultaneously publishing Spanish-language translation is identical in look but far from dry, flawlessly employing its own language quirks.Rousing tales, spirited artwork, and rich backmatter ensure that this slim graphic novel for kids becomes a rich resource for all caregivers, not just those of Latinx children. (bibliography) (Graphic folktales. 4-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
