Review by New York Times Review
SPRING is for busting out and rediscovering the world, so these four picture books come along just in time to help kids do some exploring - from the backyard to overseas to underseas to outer space - and they all let the visuals lead the charge. The most adventurous of the bunch is "A Long Way Away," by Frank Viva. It's a worthy follow-up to his inventive picture book debut, "Along a Long Road," a stylishly picturesque travelogue about a bicycle trip on a meandering yellow path that eventually circles around to the front of the book for a never-ending tale. Viva further expands the possibilities of good old ink-and-paper-on-a-spine with "A Long Way Away," which can be read from front to back or back to front, each direction telling a slightly different story about a little octopus/alien on a labyrinthine journey, and its many friendly encounters along the way. When read from the front, the octo-alien leaves its family on a distant planet and floats downward, weaving through an atmosphere of playful moons, astro-dogs, airplanes and sky divers. Reaching Earth, it splashes into the ocean and descends past exotic fishes, a nifty retro submarine and a puzzled deepsea diver - finally coming to rest and nodding off on a coral reef. In the back-to-front version, the character starts on the reef, awakens and travels upward toward its home planet and the embrace of its family. As the wiggly octo-alien - equally agile in deep water and deep space - follows its winding path from one end of the book to the other, short, poetic text embellishes the action and interactions. Illustrated with the joyous aesthetic of a Matisse cut-paper collage, the story works gracefully both ways, and children will love following the character as it ventures away from home in one version, then back to the security of its family in the other. "A Long Way Away" delivers an exciting out-and-back adventure while proving there's still room for invention in the nondigital book format. In a sequel to her popular alphabet book "Backseat A-B-See," Maria van Lieshout brings us "Flight 1-2-3," a counting book and primer about airports, one of those environments that can be frighteningly chaotic to children. The book uses standardized airport signage to acquaint the reader with everything from luggage carts to restrooms, counting them from one to 10 along the way. The iconic signs appear within a simple, visual narrative about a family making their way through an airport. The family members, though drawn in the same marshmallow-limbed graphic style as the signage humanoids, are given enough flair to be expressive and entertaining. They check in, dispose of prohibited items (a baseball bat conveniently plays the role of a weapon), wait for the restroom, get refreshments and board the plane. By takeoff, we've reached No. 10, so the book switches to a few metric conversion lessons as the plane crosses the globe. In a refreshing counterpoint to the factual information and geometric visuals, the journey ends with the family welcomed and hugged by loved ones. For an educational way to introduce children to the big world of air travel, this is just the ticket. There are probably as many tricks to teaching numbers as there are numbers, and "Night Light," by Nicholas Blechman, uses three (Three!) of them in concert. First, the vehicle for his counting book is vehicles, appealing to the universal attraction that children, especially boys, exhibit for all things wheely. (I think it's primal, as demonstrated by my nephew's first words: "dubba dekka buth.") Second, Blechman, who is the art director of the Book Review, has turned counting into a guessing game - learning camouflaged as play. Third, he introduces each number in short, rhyming text alongside a corresponding number of small circles on a field of black. It's as simple as counting dots but more engaging because the dots are actually die-cut holes, so the reader gets to guess what the holes will reveal when the page is turned. For example, the number 7 is introduced with seven holes; turning the page unveils a fire truck with two headlights and five flashing lights. "Night Light" is illustrated in blocky shapes using digital art, but it ends on a warm note, showing a child's room at night with the cast of vehicles reappearing all willy-nilly around the room and, of course, a night light glowing in the corner. "Inside Outside," a wordless picture book by Lizi Boyd, demonstrates that exploration is as much about depth as distance, and that, with an observant eye and inquisitive mind, you can find a world of inspiration in your own backyard, which is exactly what the sole character does. In scenes alternating between inside a house and just outside it, we see a boy experience nature outdoors and then celebrate it indoors. Everything in his house - from pets to paintings, posters to projects - is inspired by the natural world. It's quickly clear that to this boy, indoors is a great place to reflect on nature, but outdoors - well, that's where it's at. The shifts between indoors and out span the seasons, so winter is a time for making snowmen and then painting pictures of them indoors; spring is for flying kites outdoors and starting seedlings indoors; summer is for tending the garden outdoors and making a toy sailboat indoors; and fall is for raking leaves outdoors and then staging a show with owl puppets. The line between indoors and out is further blurred by die-cut windows in the house, so even when we're inside we can watch a bird building a nest outdoors, and when we're outdoors we can see a shelf of nature books waiting for us indoors. For all of its layering and interconnections, the book has a meditative quality. The minimalist illustrations, painted with a limited palette on humble kraft paper, have the orderly aesthetic of traditional Japanese prints. Like the best wordless picture books, "Inside Outside" exercises a child's natural ability to decipher visuals; it's rich with implied associations, tertiary stories and small details to be unearthed. book, like nature, reveals more with each study, and just as the boy doesn't have to go beyond his own backyard to be enchanted, you don't have to go beyond "Inside Outside" to discover how much a picture book can do. Tom Lichtenheld's most recent books are "Steam Train, Dream Train," written by Sherri Duskey Rinker, and "Sing," with lyrics by Joe Raposo.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [May 26, 2013]
Review by Booklist Review
Using airport signage figures and typeface to illustrate the airport experience, the simplified artwork in this unusual counting book uses color sparingly and without shading. A boy rides with his parents to 1 airport, where they grab 2 luggage carts and go to one of 3 check-in desks, and so on, down to 9 women in line for a bathroom. Switching to a view outside the boy's visual experience, we see 10 gates on a map of the terminal, 100 seat belts, and 2,000 miles from a bird's-eye view, and 33,000 feet (altitude) from space. The shift from the child's view to more abstract concepts is a giant leap that will leave some of the book's audience behind. Still, this companion volume to van Lieshout's Backseat A-B-See (2012), which introduced highway signs and the alphabet, has plenty to offer. While its minimalist expression of form and color may strike some as rather cold, the artwork is pleasing in its own way and expresses humor and warmth with its own sense of style.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This clever numeric companion to Lieshout's Backseat A-B-See also uses graphic signage to drive home its concept-this time with an air travel theme. As a family of three moves through an airport, numbers one to 10 take them through the check-in process: adhering to five signs, the boy tosses out his water bottle, the mother an aerosol can, and the father a pair of scissors; removing their shoes at the security check, the family bypasses six security officers. Cleverly, most of the other figures that are seen are white silhouettes, like the kind that often appear on signs on restroom doors. Just the thing to pack in a carry-on bag, van Lieshout's smart book is equal parts sleek modern art, counting primer, and entirely useful step-by-step guide for first-time fliers. Ages 3-6. Agent: Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Families might want to familiarize themselves with these universal symbols before they head to an airport. Beginning with the image of a plane along the highway pointing the way, van Lieshout asks children to spot and count such things as luggage carts, check-in desks, escalators, restroom signs, and seat belts. Readers will be surprised at how many images they can find. All of these symbols are in the margins of the pages and the actions that the symbols represent are boldly illustrated in bright primary colors in the same graphic style. Information is given in the end pages about the creation of the typeface in 1968 that we all recognize today. This book can be used as a companion to a seek-and-find activity. This useful guide will engage children and create an enjoyable visit to an airport.-Diane Antezzo, Ridgefield Library, CT (c) Copyright 2013. 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 counting book, an airport primer, an introduction to international signage, and a simple travel story -- van Lieshout's book packs a lot into its cleanly designed pages. Each spread features a numeral (from one to ten, then one hundred and up), a common pictogram, and one or two words interpreting the image: e.g., "Check-in desk"; "Security officers." The crisp illustrations mimic travel signs' unadorned graphics; the easy-to-decode typeface (Frutiger) is used "on airport signage all over the world." As the pages progress, a boy and his parents arrive at "1 Airport"; check in at one of "3 Check-in desks"; dispose of prohibited items in one of "5 Trash cans"; and go through security. The scenes are plainly rendered in flat blocks of blue, yellow, black, and gray with touches of red, yet are detailed enough to hold readers' attention. The family's fellow travelers are featureless men and women (think airport bathroom signs); the main characters, while well differentiated, are far from embellished. After "10 Gates" and "100 Fastened seat belts," the concepts get a bit more complex (distance, altitude), but van Lieshout brings us safely back to earth for "One happy meeting" at journey's end. Make room in your carry-on for this book, perfect for pre- and in-flight entertainment for frequent and fledgling fliers alike. kitty flynn (c) Copyright 2013. 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
Get ready for takeoff and some counting fun. This charming companion to Backseat A-B-See (2012) uses a counting concept to describe the phases of preparation for an airplane trip. A family of three with a boy wearing a yellow cap provides a narrative throughline for readers. "When taking a flight, what do you see? / 1 Airport / 2 Luggage carts / 3 Check-in desks" and so on, including escalators, trash cans and security officers. Following 10 gates are 100 fastened seat belts, 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers), 33,000 feet (10,000 meters), a "million places to explore"--and "[o]ne happy meeting." The digital illustrations depict the scenes with graphic shapes, universal signs and simplified white silhouettes similar to those seen on restroom signs for people; only the protagonist family and some key figures such as airline personnel are given any individuality at all. Humorous, graphically clever details abound. The trash cans are seen in cross section, filled with illegal items such as water bottles, scissors and baseball bats. Eight men and nine women line up across the spread from left to right waiting to get into their respective restrooms; the boy stands with his legs crossed. Informative as well as reassuring, this is ideal for prepping kids for their first flight (and maybe adults as well). Fasten your seat belts and sit back and relax; this clever book should fly off the shelves. (Informational picture book. 3-6)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
