Review by New York Times Review
It must be something about their steady, gentle hugeness: Elephants are especially beloved by the smallest children. The versatile, ever-perceptive Henkes has created a beguiling book of pastel-colored pachyderms, outlined in thick, pleasingly rough black lines. They look lively, yet extremely squeezable, as they march across the pages. He also sneaks in several toddler-ready concepts. The happy creatures demonstrate counting, a few apropos opposites like "over" and "under," a dash of wondrous nighttime magic in the form of a shower of stars, and then - as always, parents will bless his name - the joy of settling down serenely to sleep after a full day. 40 pp. Greenwillow. $18.99. Ages 2 to 5. THE VISITOR Written and illustrated by Antje Damm. Translated by Sally-Ann Spencer. A shut-in, neatnik woman named Elise lives alone and shuns company, until "something unbelievable" happens - a paper plane flies in her window, followed by a boy knocking at her door. Warm connection ensues. What makes it striking is Damm's nifty, expressive art, photographs of dioramas and cutout painted figures. Dressed in red and yellow, the boy, Emil, brings color to Elise's gray world. She makes her own paper plane, and the dazzling last page needs no words: We see inside her now colorful home, but she's not there. 32 pp. Gecko. $17.99. Ages 3 to 5. A VERY LATE STORY Written and illustrated by Marianna Coppo Meta picture books, in which characters know (or find out) they're in a book, can be overbearing, but this one brings a light, clever touch to the conceit. Five small, silly, delicately drawn animals wander across blank pages, unsure why they're there. Soon they realize they must wait for the story to arrive - how irritating. As they wait, a tree grows, adding new characters and new delights to the sea of white. By the time a stork brings the story, they realize they've got their own already, creating a head-spinning yet easygoing lesson in finding your own voice, and your own fun. 48 pp. Flying Eye. $17.95. Ages 3 to 7. NIGHT JOB By Karen Hesse. Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. The premise is simple - a boy recounts how he goes with Dad on Friday nights to his job cleaning a school - but Hesse, a Newbery Medal winner, and Karas create an atmosphere of hushed fascination as we follow the pair through the long night. They leave home on a motorcycle; Dad opens the school door with a ring of keys "as big as the rising moon." Karas's dusky paneled art gives a feel of enchantment and adventure as the boy sweeps floors, shoots hoops, reads and falls asleep while Dad finishes working. He's added an extraordinary dignity and tenderness to this picture of working-parent reality and a loving, physically close father-son bond. 32 pp. Candlewick. $16.99. Ages 4 to 8. GROW UF> DAVID! Written and illustrated by David Shannon With its likably mischievous hero who can't slow down, Shannon's Caldecott Honor-winning "No, David!" is 20 years old. This welcome fifth David book is a portrait of our hero as a pesky younger brother, his M.O. captured as always in Shannon's wavery, high-energy art. A fresh sibling complaint is on every spread ("Thanks a lot, David!," "Give it back, David!"), accompanied by a colorful littlekid's-eye view of the damage done. The final rapprochement is surprisingly moving: Brothers are in it for the long haul, and even whirlwind David will, little by little, grow up. 32 pp. Blue Sky Press. $17.99. Ages 3 to 7. THE PATCHWORK BIKE By Maxine Beneba Clarke. Illustrated byVan Thanh Rudd. The children in this exuberant book from an Australian writer and artist live in a "mud for walls" house on the edge of the "no-go desert," and they've made an excellent bike out of random parts. Clarke's poetically compressed language hurtles joyfully along, while Rudd's illustrations, made on cardboard boxes with spirited swaths of paint, burst with irrepressible life. Dreaming and building, we see, go hand in hand no matter where you live. 40 pp. Candlewick. $15.99. Ages 4 to 8. P IS FOR PTERODACTYL: THE WORST ALPHABET BOOK EVER By Raj Haidar and Chris Carpenter. Illustrated by Maria Beddia. You can curse the English language for its insane spelling rules (or lack thereof), or you can delight in it, as this raucous trip through the odd corners of our alphabet does. Haidar - better known as the rapper Lushlife - and Carpenter celebrate "Heir" and "Tsunami," adding brainteasers like "R is not for Are' " for good measure. Beddia's art adds a cartoony touch. 40 pp. Sourcebooks. $17.99. Ages 7 to 12. MY BEIJING: FOUR STORIES OF EVERYDAY WONDER Written and illustrated by Nie Jun. Translated by Edward Gauvin. This delectable graphic story collection gives a taste of the everyday life of kids in China, kicked up with a clever time-travel element. A girl named Yu'er, who has a disability that limits her walking, and the grandfather who cares for her live simply, but their days are filled with both resourcefulness and amazement. The stories move gracefully between reality and fantasy, a bit like Miyazaki movies, but sweeter. 128 pp. Graphic Universe. $17.99. Ages 7 to 12. MARIA RUSSO is the children's books editor of the Book Review.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [January 31, 2019]
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
To make the book's spreads, German artist Damm (Waiting for Goliath) draws the tale's characters, then places their cutout figures in a small, tidy abode with furnishings crafted of paper and board, and photographs them inside. Apron-wearing Elise likes to clean her home, but she doesn't like to leave it: "Elise was scared of everything..../ So she never went out./ Night or day." A blue paper airplane sails in through the window of the dimly lit, grayscale house, and the following morning, there's a knock at the door. It's a boy with a red cap and bare feet. "I'm here for my plane," he says. "And can I visit your bathroom? It's urgent!" As the boy heads upstairs, he leaves a trail of color behind him, and readers sense that things are going to change. Sure enough, the boy and Elise begin a most unexpected friendship. Elise's house fills with color-warm yellow, fuchsia, and red-and we see her smile. Damm emphasizes how much people need others to care about, and readers will enjoy going back over the pages to see how the colors change. Ages 6-7. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Panophobic Elise never goes out, night or day, and she likes her house to be perfectly tidy. One day, upon cracking a window to let in fresh air, a paper airplane lands in her living room, opening the door to Elise's whole world. This appealing picture book draws in readers right from the endpapers, which are like peeking into a perfectly detailed black-and-white diorama. The illustrations remain in monochrome, capturing a bit of sadness and loneliness until the arrival of the blue paper airplane. With it come swaths of color, brightening the pages as well as the mood of the story and its protagonist. The owner of the paper airplane is an outgoing young boy, eager to retrieve his toy. He is forthright with Elise and finds his way into her home and her heart. A full and heartwarming story about the power of companionship that will delight young readers and have older ones wanting to learn more about Elise's path through life. The illustrations are three-dimensional with the contrast of paper cutouts for characters and other design elements throughout. VERDICT Simply gorgeous in pictures and words, this is a terrific read-aloud selection and a great story to spark conversation.-Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE © 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
A woman named Elise is too fearful to leave her house. After a paper airplane flies through her window, a boy comes looking for it and invites himself in for a friendly visit. The story's originality (text translated from the German) extends to its photographed art, which features cut-out characters set against handmade backdrops; as the intergenerational friendship blossoms, so does the book's color scheme. (c) Copyright 2019. 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
In this German import (by way of New Zealand), a lonely, fearful woman named Elise lives alone in her tiny, gray house until a sky-blue paper airplane and a boy named Emil bring changes to her life.Elise is a middle-aged woman wearing a checked dress and apron, with her hair worn in tightly coiled buns on the sides of her head. She is afraid of everything and never leaves her home. One day a paper airplane floats in through an open window, followed the next day by a little boy looking for his plane. Emil is a friendly child interested in Elise's full bookshelves, and before long she is reading stories to him, playing hide-and-seek, and fixing him a snack, before sending him home with a hopeful "Bye for now, Emil." That night Elise works at making her own paper airplane, with a wordless final page showing a smiling Elise with her eyes closed, a completed sky-blue airplane on the table in front of her. The intriguing illustrations are photographs of a 3-D diorama of the home's interior with flat, cartoon-style cutouts of the two characters, whose skin tones are the white of the artist's paper. Emil brings light and color into Elise's world, with the palette changing from grays to brilliant hues. A touching, understated story about the transformative power of friendship. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
