Review by New York Times Review
Dreamy marshmallows, rude animals, a portal to a mirror world: These gorgeous books expand minds. I CAN ONLY DRAW WORMS Written and illustrated by Will Mabbitt. Maybe Mabbitt can't draw many things, but boy, can he conceive and execute a witty, surprising, maximum fun picture book. Oh, and this one doubles as a counting exercise. Having announced that worms are his entire repertoire, Mabbitt proceeds to wrangle 10 neon-bright ones onto the pages, with hilarious difficulty. They're so hard to tell apart. And poor worm No. 8: "It's not true that if a worm is cut in half it makes two worms," we learn. "It makes two half worms." 32 pp. Penguin. $14.99. (Ages 3 to 5) THE SUN SHINES EVERYWHERE Written by Mary Ann Hoberman. Illustrated by Luciano Lozano. If you're as picky about rhyming picture books as I am, you'll be excited that the former children's poet laureate Hoberman, whose meter never falters, has created this clever ode to the sun and its globe-spanning, life-giving power. With Lozano's cheerful art, the pages fly by, dropping tidbits of geoscience and empathy-building name-checks of far-off places: "Some children live in Paris / And others live in Rome. / Some children dwell in New Rochelle / And some call China home." (But why no mention of Africans?) 32 pp. Little, Brown. $17.99. (Ages 3 to 7) MOST MARSHMALLOWS Written and illustrated by Rowboat Watkins. Can marshmallows be exquisite? That's the word that leaps to mind for this new picture book from Watkins ("Rude Cakes," "Big Bunny"), which is full of irresistible handmade figures and precisely detailed diorama art. With their delicately penciled-on faces and outfits, the marshmallows in this world are everyday folks: "They go to school most mornings / and learn to be squishy / and how to stand in rows," and they live in houses and celebrate birthdays. Like all Watkins's books, this one has wonderfully compact language and an ending that surprises, with a rousing, wholehearted imaginative leap. It turns out even humble marshmallows can - and should - dream big. 40 pp. Chronicle. $16.99. (Ages 3 to 7) ANOTHER Written and illustrated by Christian Robinson. Robinson's first book as both author and illustrator is a gentle, wordless wonder that follows a little girl and her cat after they find a portal into another world. There, children and pets encounter mirror versions of themselves - wearing different-colored clothes, so you can tell which is which. Robinson's geometric precision combines with his flatout adorable collaged characters to make for a unique kind of enchantment. You'll find yourself rotating the book to try to put the story's sophisticated puzzle together. 32 pp. Atheneum. $17.99. (Ages 3 to 8) A STORY THAT GROWS Written and illustrated by Gilles Bachelet. This nifty bedtime book from the esteemed French illustrator Bachelet has a parent-child pair of creatures on every spread. Each kid is in a species-specific crib, ready to hear a story that takes off in an appropriate direction: The ostrich's story "hatches," the snail's story "takes ... its ... time." The creatures, who include a truck and a Martian, are not named - this book asks for, and will reward, intense visual reading from young listeners, as they pore over the gorgeous, kooky bedrooms, filled with hilarious customized beds and toys. 32 pp. Eerdmans. $16. (Ages 3 to 7) OINK Written and illustrated by David Elliot. Elliot's funny story is told in animal sounds and onomatopoeia ("Mooo!" and "Boing!"). One by one, unruly animals join a pig in his bathtub. Pig looks distraught, then angry, until he creates a tub-clearing moment (think unidentified bubbles) and enjoys his bath in peace. The delicacy and subtlety of the art only adds to the frisky humor. 32 pp. Gecko. $16.99. (Ages 3 to 7) THE LITTLE GUYS Written and illustrated by Vera Brosgol. The little acorn-capped creatures in Brosgol's ("Leave Me Alone!") latest gem think they're "the strongest guys in the whole forest" - there are so many of them, after all. Marching and climbing together, they try to dominate bigger animals. As they try to yank a berry from a baby bird's mouth, they crash to earth. Chastened, they climb back up to feed the whole nest. What a fantastic message: not just "teamwork," but actual community. 40 pp. Roaring Brook. $17.99. A GREEN PLACE TO BE The Creation of Central Park Written and illustrated by Ashley Benham Yazdani. This delightful slice of history shows the hard work and careful planning that went into one of the world's great outdoor public spaces, New York City's "vibrant jewel." Yazdani's mesmerizing watercolor and pencil art teems with fascinating details as it makes the park's past and present seem unified, driving home the importance of creating and preserving "quiet green spots in a fast-changing world." 40 pp. Candlewick. $17.99. (Ages 7 to 10) MARIA RUSSO is the children's books editor at the Book Review.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [July 11, 2019]
Review by Booklist Review
Peppy rhymes and bright, animated artwork showcase the sun as a ubiquitous link among everyone the world over, past and present (even dinosaurs!). Here, in colorful spreads and vignettes, the sun beams equally upon a diverse array of children in varying activities and settings, from Paris to Maine to Cuba. Even animals get in on the fun: From crocodiles along the Nile / To growling grizzly bear, / Each creature sees the sun because / The sun shines everywhere! Additional spreads touch on the sun's varying purposes (like helping flowers grow) and explain what happens when the sun's not visible ( It may shine on Earth's other side, / And that is why it's night ). While somewhat lengthy, Hoberman's lively stanzas keep the pace, building anticipation and inviting listener participation in the repeated refrain, the sun shines everywhere. Although occasional references might sail over the heads of younger kids (such as, In feast and famine, peace and war, / It's made its steady way ), this upbeat ode to the uplifting and unifying qualities of the sun is infectious.--Shelle Rosenfeld Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Former children's poet laureate Hoberman celebrates the stalwart star that makes life possible and connects people regardless of where they live: "The world takes turns at day and night/ And each side has its share./ The sun is shining all the time!/ The sun shines everywhere!" The language is conversational, with lilting, playful internal and external rhymes: when Hoberman notes that the sun is important even to nocturnal animals, she singles out "the owls who hoot, the moles who root,/ The bats who swoop in flight." Full-bleed spreads and spot illustrations by Lozano (Miles of Smiles) are rendered in soft colors and populated by rosy-cheeked folks and happy animals under a smiling, blossomlike sun. Some illustrations feel a little like a throwback to Disney's It's a Small World attraction-the Parisian child, dressed in traditional artist's gear, stands by the Eiffel Tower; Chinese kids play a fishing game while a bright red Paifang rises in the background. Still, there's a lot to be said for spreading a little sunshine through unironic high spirits and unalloyed good nature. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Gina Maccoby, Gina Maccoby Literary. Illustrator's agent: Kirsten Hall, Catbird. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-An ode to sunlight told in rhyming verse. This work celebrates the magic of the sun and the diversity of humanity. From Delhi to Delaware, Cuba to Capri, and everywhere in between, sunlight touches everyone and everything in nature. It marks the change from night to day. It helps flowers and vegetation grow and brightens our mood on a gloomy day. Readers of all ages will delight in the accessible text, joyous illustrations, and vibrant colors that honor the interconnectedness of all living things. -VERDICT A great read-aloud for any library collection, and a necessary reminder that we live in a shared world.-Maegen Rose, Rye Country Day School, NY © Copyright 2019. 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 Kirkus Book Review
An ebullient tribute to geographic and cultural diversity on this planet.Bouncy rhyming text takes readers on a whirlwind journey around the globe, always ending with the unifying, titular refrain: "The sun shines everywhere." Children play and interact in Japan, the United States, India, and more, all basking in warmth and sunshine. White, brown, and black faces appear throughout, including a multiracial family (although they all seem to have rather similar facial features). Lively illustrations feature various religious garments such as a Sikh turban and a Pakistani topi. A similarly global approach to biodiversity depicts cold-weather animals in Antarctica, nocturnal and subterranean animals in the Americas, dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, and more. The text even broadly references a few key historical periods, featuring the Egyptian pyramids, classical Greek philosophers, a medieval castle, and Copernicus. Some depictions make this a less-than-ideal text for STEM learning: Landforms on a freely drawn globe are more suggestions than anything else; puffins are not found in Antarctica. Nevertheless, bright, digitally produced illustrations feature eye-catching, immersive spreads full of children at play amid vivid flowers, a variety of architectural styles, and lots of tiny details that encourage readers to look closer.A celebration of unity through variety that's just right for these divided times. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
