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Jennifer M. Brabander
874 Reviews
(2)
4-6
Retold by Pirkko-Liisa Surojegin.
Translated by Jill G. Timbers.
These twenty-six Nordic tales are mostly inspired by stories from the author-illustrator's native Finland. In a brief introduction, Surojegin explains that "the good-natured, trusting bear and wolf and the sly fox usually play the main roles in these tales, which are often set on a traditional farm at the edge of the forest." Indeed, Bear and Wolf are big and strong but terribly gullible, while smaller, super-wily Fox is constantly finding ways to nap or eat while they end up doing all the work--farming, threshing grain, building roads. Other forest and farm animals take part in the shenanigans, which include several pourquoi tales ("Fox Gets a White Tip on His Tail," for one). All the stories are accompanied by finely detailed illustrations--from vignettes to richly colored double-page spreads--of the animals and woodsy Scandinavian setting. The humorous retellings are for the most part linked together and intended to be read in order, and the varied length of the tales will help hold readers' attention.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2022
(1)
PS
Illustrated by
Kaylani Juanita.
A little girl learns to ride a bike in her suburban Bay Area neighborhood, her father by her side until off she goes on her own. Soon enough comes the inevitable wobbliness and first fall (with, luckily, a soft landing in some leafy shrubbery), but Dad is there to help: "Hug-cried / Tears dried / Decide..." Will she get back on? Dad wisely lets her think about it, then "Push, goodbyed / Pump, FLY! / What pride!" Bolling's brief and inventive rhyming text perfectly conveys the action and emotions involved in an inaugural bike ride. Illustrations extend the appealing story by including a supportive dog who pulls twigs off the bike after the crash, wags its tail encouragingly as the girl considers getting back on, and gives her a big wet kiss at the end. However, the crowning elaboration on the text is the art's celebration of Black hair: Dad, wearing a T-shirt with the Pan-African flag colors, sports high-top dreads, a fade, and a chin-strap goatee, while the girl's double Afro puffs proudly poof out below her bike helmet. (Safety first, but this girl is not letting that helmet cramp her style.) When the two return home, Mom and younger brother join them for a family bike ride, little man (with dreads that match Dad's) riding in a sidecar and the dog running happily alongside. Together, indeed.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2022
(2)
4-6
Japanese American Aoi Inoue takes to heart her sixth-grade teacher's advice ("You can be anything you want to be") and decides she wants to be called Annie, after years of answering to mangled pronunciations of her name. She also wants to be Annie, as in Little Orphan, and auditions for the part at the local community theater. So does her white best friend. Who gets the part and who actually deserves it spur an evolution in Annie's awareness of racism in her community. In this ultimately uplifting story set in 1980s Topeka, Kansas, Brown (While I Was Away) describes the painful racism the Inoue family faces and their differing experiences of living in the United States. Annie's professor dad is continually grateful for the opportunities he'd never find back home in Japan. Her mom, who struggles with English years after their move, is less enthusiastic. Brown conveys the dynamics of their bilingual household in small moments: one evening, Mom speaks to Annie in Japanese, "too tired to even practice her English," while Annie answers her in English, "too excited to use [her] Japanese"; younger sibling Tak understands almost no Japanese and often asks his sister to translate overheard parental arguments. While Annie's voice gets a little teacher-y at the end as she wraps up all she's learned, the newfound friendships and opportunities she earns are a warm and welcome outcome. An author's note is appended.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 2022
(2)
PS
Gosling Ollie (Ollie the Stomper) is feeling out of sorts, and "Nothing feels right!" One by one, his friends kindly offer help. Does he want to wear Gertie's boots or play with Peedie's ball or go exploring with Gemma? Ollie patiently refuses each offering ("Ollie would rather stomp alone... / Ollie isn't hungry") until Gideon innocently suggests some quiet time. And with that, Ollie has reached his limit: "Ollie wants to be loud!" Dunrea's spot-on illustration shows our frustrated gosling yelling, beak wide open. Cue Gossie, who now knows exactly what Ollie needs: a hug. Just right for toddler attention spans and well-aimed at little ones learning to identify emotions and get their needs met, this board book is a soothing story for trying times. Get your hugs here.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2022
(2)
1-3
Lemon Bird isn't the only fruit-animal hybrid in this cute and kooky graphic novel--there are pairs of cherry mice (attached by their cherry-stem tails); an adorable pack of roly-poly "pupkins" in a pupkin patch; and a sour Keylime bird, among others. Round little Lemon Bird can't fly, but she can help Pupkin, who's gotten caught in some vines. "Lemon Bird to the rescue!" After she snips through the greenery with her beak, the new pals run around playing, then fall asleep in a pickup truck, which takes them far from Pupkin's home. As they set out to find their way back, the two work together to help others. Even after Keylime is unkind to them, they save her from a vicious cat. (Humans often have skin and hair as colorful as the fruit-animal mixes, and their speech bubbles contain strings of shapes and symbols.) But when Pupkin chases a beetle and runs away from Lemon Bird, Keylime, changed by the kindness they showed her, saves the day--and teaches Lemon Bird how to fly! All ends well in this offbeat, action-packed adventure illustrated with sweet and surreal pictures in an array of jewel tones.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2022
(2)
4-6
In this picture book for an older audience than Yang's A Boy Named Isamu (rev. 9/21), Hughes presents an impressionistic biography of artist Isamu Noguchi. The book's emotional journey begins with an elderly Noguchi shouting into a phone, angrily turning down an invitation to represent the United States in an important art exhibition. Rejected too many times in both America and Japan, Noguchi "felt like a snail and called himself one." To calm down, he decides to build an akari, a lamp sculpted out of paper and bamboo, though difficult memories arise as he works. Born to a white American mother and a Japanese father, Noguchi grew up in both the U.S. and Japan yet never felt he belonged in either; World War II only deepened his sense of alienation. In her illustrations Hughes makes use of spirals and whorls to play with the snail theme: the artist often works so ferociously he's like a "typhoon"; coiled shapes fill his memories--Japanese ferns, wood shavings, his curly hair as a child; and, finally, there's the rounded shell-like body of the light-filled lamp, his finished product. Noguchi feels "love from the akari's glow" and changes his mind about the invitation; his work at the exhibition ultimately includes a room filled with akari--"a room full of light." In an author's note, Hughes says that while critics at the time complained that the akari were too commercial, she considers them "sculptures of joy...of lightness, impermanence." A brief bibliography is appended.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2023
(2)
PS
Though wearing bright yellow pajamas that exude cheeriness, Cat wakes up in a gloomy mood, seemingly unaware of the sun shining through the window. Luckily, Dog knows how to let friend Cat have all the feels. This wordless picture book tells a gentle story with a powerful message: it's okay to feel down, and it's okay to get help. Double-page spreads convey our protagonist's frame of mind: one spread shows Cat after waking, sitting with downcast eyes, the bedroom a pool of blurry, gray shadows. Small vignettes denote action: seven scenes on a single spread show Dog's quick discernment of Cat's glum mood and wise decision to sit quietly nearby. When Cat, hiding under a blanket, invites Dog in, the vignettes become larger, making viewers feel they've joined the friends in their cozy cave. A final spread expresses Cat's emotional state at the end: after a lovely playtime, Dog secures some snacks and the two friends sit on the blanket together, looking out the window at the beautiful day. Ohi deliberately includes Cat's light-blue blanket in virtually every scene--an ever-present sign of clear skies to come.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2022
(2)
PS
Illustrated by
Lucinda Gifford.
Big Dog is perfectly happy before Little Dog comes along. It's just him and his human friend--yelling "Walkies!" while hanging onto the leash as Big Dog hurtles along; "Come!" as off-leash Big Dog trots away; "Up!" as Big Dog sprawls on the couch; "Sit!" as Big Dog jumps to see the kitchen counter; and, Big Dog's favorite, "Get down!" whenever his human comes home. Life is good for this less-than-good dog, except for those long days waiting and waiting for "Get down!" to arrive. Here, Gifford's cheerfully colored illustrations fade to gray as Big Dog looks forlornly out the window. Life changes one day when the pair meets a woman walking a tiny white dog; the latter two eventually move in, and Little Dog unintentionally makes Big Dog look bad by interpreting "Come!" and "Sit!" in a very different, very obedient manner. Little Dog must go! The physical differences between the dogs playfully show off their personalities: Big Dog's huge, floppy hound ears and long tail versus Little Dog's tiny wing-like ears and constantly wagging wisp of a tail. Rippin's brief but amusing text lets the expressive illustrations fill in gaps and extend the story's humor, as the pups soon become besties in this lighthearted Australian import about blended families.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 2022
(2)
K-3
Illustrated by
Dan Santat.
Though oversize, this eighty-eight-page picture book is not for story hour; it's perhaps best suited for just one or two listeners. And get comfortable; kids will insist on multiple readings because, while the story begins the same way each time (Rosie must take a cake to her sick grandma), the choose-your-own-path format results in multiple endings (and middles). After introducing Rosie, the text asks, "What next, Rosie? Which coat will you wear?" Readers choose either her faux fur coat or her favorite red cape and are sent to a specific page number depending on their choice. Those pages tell more of the story and offer further choices (kiss your scary-looking granny or run for the door; jump out a window with your eyes open or closed). The numerous possible endings are split fairly evenly between happy and not-so-happy ones. In the latter, Rosie usually finds herself dead--not as morbid as it sounds because, if readers choose (and they will), Rosie can start her story over and hope for a better outcome. The humorously grim text is well matched with amusing illustrations that keep even the darker story elements lighthearted, as readers meet (or not) such characters as Snow White, a wicked queen, Jack, and Sleeping Beauty. Santat's Rosie is small but sturdy and never terribly perturbed, even when she finds herself swallowed by the wolf ("You've got no choice. You sit and wait. It's dark, and what a bore! / You're not quite sure if this is death. You've never died before!"). Both text and art are endlessly clever.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2022
(1)
4-6
Vernick's absorbing historical World War II novel alternates between the perspectives of two teenage girls: Nellie Doud in Oregon and Tamiko Nakaoka in Japan. Nellie misses her Pa, who's in the service; has a crush on friend and neighbor Joey, whose brother was recently killed in action; and narrowly escapes being killed by the Japanese bomb that takes six lives in her small town. Orphan Tamiko worries about her older brother when he joins the Imperial Army; is initially excited when the girls at her school are enlisted to help the emperor; then survives terrible conditions while making paper for the balloons that will carry bombs to America. Both girls just want the war to be over, and both think deeply about the complexities of blame, guilt, forgiveness, and compassion while navigating their own country's racist propaganda. Readers may want to follow up this engrossing novel with Tanya Lee Stone's Peace Is a Chain Reaction (rev. 9/22); each book greatly enhances the other. (Marc Tyler Nobleman's earlier picture book Thirty Minutes over Oregon, rev. 11/18, covers similar material for younger readers.) Appended are extensive notes on the true events behind the story, further information about World War II, research sources, and a glossary.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2022
(2)
PS
Illustrated by
Hyewon Yum.
While adults attend an ESL class, their children go to a playroom next door. The room is full but quiet; no one speaks the same language, and all the kids play separately. On a recent visit, young Luli had drawn a picture about an idea she had, and today her backpack holds a thermos, a teapot, a tea canister, and some teacups. As Miss Hirokane watches, Luli puts some tea leaves in the pot and pours in the "steaming hot" water, her tongue sticking out in careful concentration. She calls "cha!" (Chinese for tea), and everyone responds with their own words for tea (each word is spelled out and printed phonetically). All gather at the table, where Luli pours tea into cups that get passed around. When there isn't enough left for herself, the kids pass her empty cup around, each pouring in a little tea from their own. After tea it's time for cookies, and with that, "the playroom was no longer quiet." Tea drinking everywhere celebrates community and togetherness; Wang (Watercress, rev. 3/21) has cleverly recreated (and diversified) that ritual in a microcosm. Yum's (Saturday Is Swimming Day[cf], rev. 7/18) overhead view of the table shows smiling faces and varied skin tones, and her illustrations make clear that the Asian teacups with no handles are perfect for small hands--and safe (if it's cool enough to hold, it's cool enough to drink). An appended note describes tea drinking in the ten countries represented, including Iran, Kenya, and Chile, while teacups from each country decorate the endpapers.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2022
(2)
4-6
In Willis's debut graphic novel, based on her own experiences, narrator Lucy worships her older-by-one-year sister Livy. They play together, then fight, then make up--always. Things change when their parents send them to a brand-new school to start fifth and sixth grades. Shy Livy, furious at losing her tight-knit friend group, takes her anger out on her younger sister, who watches in dismay as Livy begins to obsess about her appearance and develops an eating disorder. Details about Livy's slow starvation are highly disturbing, but the cartoon-style illustrations help keep everything at a tolerable level and even manage to include lighthearted moments. With lots of therapy, and plenty of setbacks, Livy begins to recover, only to notice that Lucy has started losing weight. Heartbreakingly, Lucy can't help envying Livy's thinness in this story that lays bare diet culture's pervasive hold. Preteens listen to their peers; wisely, it's mainly Livy rather than an adult who explains the facts about disordered eating. (Helpful advice also comes from Lucy's awesome summer camp counselor, who encourages her to grow--in all ways--rather than shrink.) Holding this captivating story together is Lucy and Livy's unbreakable bond of sisterhood, authentically portrayed in both art and text. Appended with an author's note and resources.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2022
(2)
K-3
Illustrated by
Ashley Lukashevsky.
Claire, who lives with her family in Hawai'i, yearns to experience snow. Her family visits Mauna Kea, but the snow there isn't the kind she's seen in movies--she wants soft snow, not icy. She also wants real mittens (not socks), a real scarf (not an old beach towel), a real snowman (not the sad-looking lump they build), and a real sled (not the "sugarcane truck inner tube" that bumps over the hard snow). But her discontent dissipates after a day at nearby Hapuna Beach, where her family builds a sandman, using shells for eyes, driftwood for a pipe, and coral for a smile. Claire floats happily in the waves (in the inner tube), and then everyone makes sand angels. Claire now realizes she lives on a "beautiful island of lava fields, sandy beaches, rain forests, fiery volcanoes, sacred mountains, and, yes, even snow." This "grass is always greener" story will fascinate kids accustomed to snow every winter and will remind kids in warmer climates of the beauty to be found in their own surroundings. Yamanaka and Lukashevsky both convey their love of their home state; the lyrically written narrative contains Hawaiian words (glossary/pronunciation guide included), and the digital illustrations glow with vibrant colors, the multihued ocean imagery far outshining Claire's imaginary pink and purple snow scenes.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 2022
(1)
YA
In this expertly crafted graphic novel, recent high school grad Nao, born in Japan and raised in the American Midwest, spends a gap year in Tokyo. "Only half" Japanese and lacking language fluency, she struggles to fit in. Nao's housemates include two other non-natives, Korean Hyejung and Chinese Singaporean Tina; they tell Nao they simply want to experience life abroad but both hide complicated backstories, revealed in sections related from their points of view. Frequent use of manga art styles adds depth and detail to the story of Naos rollercoaster year. Becker (illustrator of Takei's They Called Us Enemy, rev. 9/19) smartly uses speech balloons to re-create the feeling of being a language learner, showing, for example, only Japanese characters when Nao can't understand a word of rapid-fire Japanese but providing both Japanese characters and English translation when she does understand, with blurry lines standing in for the words she isn't getting. Dialogue balloons have characters speaking accented English with their pronunciations written out phonetically; in an endnote, Becker says, "Our accents are not a point of shame but a point of pride, because after all, what is an accent but proof of the ability to speak more than one language?" Hilarious and tender situations abound as this insightful graphic novel explores, among other topics, how language can either separate or bring people together.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2022
(1)
K-3
Illustrated by
Gracey Zhang.
A young girl visiting her grandmother in Japan narrates this not-so-traditional bath-time book about a very traditional and ancient Japanese custom. The narrator and her beloved baachan, along with a gaggle of aunties, take a walk to the neighborhood bath house, where they meet up with some smiling young cousins. After removing shoes and clothes, they sit on low stools by water faucets, scrub themselves clean with soap, and rinse off before gently easing themselves into the steaming hot bath with a communal "Ahhhhh." The narrator guides readers through the potentially unfamiliar rituals by clearly describing what will happen; the future tense ("The wooden sandals will be lined up and waiting") also reads like a comforting reminder of what will take place the next time she gets to visit her grandmother. The text mirrors the mood--quick rhymes describe the excitement of arriving and the fun of soaping up, then longer sentences slow down and quiet as the group walks home in the dark. Zhang's buoyant illustrations in ink, gouache, and watercolors match the water-focused story with transparent, watery hues anchored by strong black outlining. Young audiences will giggle at all the naked bodies in the book, while adults will appreciate the body-positive descriptions: "You'll all dip your bodies, / your newly sprouting, / gangly bodies, / your saggy, shapely, / jiggly bodies, / your cozy, creased, / ancient bodies. / Beautiful bodies." In an appended note, Canadian author Maclear (It Began with a Page, rev. 11/19) describes the childhood summers she spent in Japan, she and her grandmother sharing not a common language but "rituals, a sweet tooth, and a love of bathing."
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2021
(2)
K-3
Illustrated by
Naoko Stoop.
In this bilingual book, a child moving into a new home sees the girl next-door frolicking in the snow and joins her. Speech balloons (the book's only text) contain their simple conversation, starting with "Hello" and the new girl's "Konnichiwa" in response, followed by "Let's play!" and “Asobou!" Many of their words are onomatopoeic: they hear a woodpecker and reply, "Peck peck" / "Kotsu kotsu"; while packing the snow for a snowman they say, "Nade nade" / "Pat pat pat." When they "Shiver shiver" / "Buru buru," it's time to head inside. The girls dry off, fold origami, and have some tea ("Huu huu" / "Blow blow"). Back to playing, they laugh together, and their final words are fittingly the same: "Ha ha ha!" Stoop (Sun and Moon Have a Tea Party, rev. 7/20) uses mixed-media on plywood to create cozy pictures of the children's play, both indoors and out. Inside, the wood is cleverly left bare and used to depict floors; in outdoor scenes the woodgrain, lightly covered, looks like clouds. The characters' perfectly round heads, with simple dots for eyes, resemble those in the books of Gyo Fujikawa, known for her early inclusion of non-white characters; Stoop's Japanese child here befriends a brown-skinned curly-haired girl. Both author and illustrator include notes at the back on their own experiences with language and friendship. Minor quibbles: a pronunciation guide would have been helpful, and the Japanese word hashi appears incorrectly as haji.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2022
(2)
PS
Illustrated by
Komako Sakai.
A girl and her brother return to a park to retrieve her jump rope and discover a group of foxes trying to use it but failing. The girl kindly offers to help and then lets the foxes keep the rope, fulfilling one fox's wish. In mostly grays, greens, and yellows, the art excels at capturing preschoolers' body language. Smiling, hopping foxes embody the story's gentle light-heartedness.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2017
(2)
1-3
Illustrated by
Elizabet Vuković.
Every New Year, relatives gather at Jasmine's home to celebrate by making mochi, Japanese sweet rice cakes. Jasmine, eight, decides to break with tradition to become the first younger-than-ten helper. This series-starter introduces a plucky, strong-willed girl whose family traditions may be new to many readers but whose frustrations will be familiar to nearly all. Humorous illustrations help young audiences picture the mochi-making process.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2017
(2)
4-6
Illustrated by
LeUyen Pham.
Color by Jane Poole. Hale recounts her elementary-school years in this graphic memoir. Readers will empathize with Shannon's experiences of being left out, teased, and bullied, and they'll feel relieved once she learns how to find real friends and avoid toxic ones. Illustrator Pham's often humorous yet always sensitive depictions of the characters' emotions make the book even more affecting. Hand to fans of Raina Telgemeier and Cece Bell.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2017
(2)
4-6
In this clever tale, super-shy seventh grader Emmie rarely speaks to a soul at school but loves to draw. Occasional comics-style sections follow super-popular, impossibly perfect "Katie." After a classmate shares Emmie's note about her crush with everyone, Emmie goes from feeling invisible to feeling embarrassingly visible. But as Emmie becomes more satisfyingly confident, Katie gradually disappears--a no-longer-needed coping mechanism that existed only in Emmie's drawings.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2017
874 reviews
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