Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Atinuke and Brooksbank (Baby Goes to Market) reteam for an L-focused story about two adults and four children setting off to sell lemons, leaving two elders behind. In an opening scene ("L is for Leaving,/ L is for Linger"), the family members embrace one another, conveying abundant warmth. They get ready while it's still dark, and after a mishap, catch an unplanned ride in a red bus ("L is for Lift./ L is for Lucky"). Throughout, repeating L sounds provide a continuo that grounds the scenery they pass through. At last, they arrive, and "L is for LAGOS!" A magnificent spread pulses with the life of the market as stalls crowd sidewalks and buses snake through streets. Lemons are sold and lunch is eaten before the family makes its way home, this time on foot, arriving at last in the arms of its waiting members ("L is for Late,/ and L is for...// Love!"). It's a family portrait that underscores rich relationships surrounded by the natural world. Ages 3--7. (Sept.)
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Review by Horn Book Review
There's lots to love about this companion to B Is for Baby (rev. 5/19), which strings together lists of words starting with L for a day-in-the-life depiction of a multigenerational Nigerian family. The title-page illustration establishes their rural home, surrounded by a lemon grove at daybreak. Atinuke's spare text then opens with the phrase, "L is for Love, and L is for Lemons," leaving illustrator Brooksbank to define the cast of characters, including two grandparents, two parents, four children, and a bevy of animals. Illustrations also do the heavy lifting in constructing a visual narrative in which the elders help prepare the rest of the family to go to market in the city to sell baskets of lemons. They travel by foot and by bus, and when they arrive in Lagos, Brooksbank creates an urban setting that contrasts greatly with the homeplace. There's a sense of wonder and delight in the children's postures and expressions as they take in the city's sights and sounds, inviting readers to pore over detailed, busy scenes and do the same. At book's end, the parents and children return safely home to the grandparents' embrace at nightfall, with a full-circle culmination where once again "L is for...Love!" Megan Dowd LambertNovember/December 2024 p.62 (c) Copyright 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
An alliterative lesson in love, highlighting the 12th letter of the alphabet. This slice-of-life tale follows a family of Nigerian farmers as they haul their fruit from the lemon groves to the big city of Lagos. The text consists solely of "L is for…" sentences, and the letterL does a lot of heavy lifting in describing a world so large and dynamic, from the family's nighttime journey through the trees ("L is for Lamp") to the truck that gives them a ride ("L is for Lift. L is for Lucky"). Atinuke and Brooksbank home in on key details: the crack of lightning across the sky, the "lazy lions" and "lonely leopard" on the savanna, the children playing in a market filled with fabrics. At last, a morning of lemon selling gives way to lunch ("L is for Lick. L is for Lips"), and soon the family starts their long journey back home, past a herd of roaming elephants and through the winding paths beneath the lemon trees. Though the writing is spare, it exudes pure joy: Love is the focus throughout and anLword worth cherishing. Making rich use of textures, the mixed-media art highlights the family's affection for one another and for their home and their work; each spread is rife with detail, telling a story all its own. Luminous illustrations and lively text make for lovely reading.(Picture book. 4--8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
