Review by New York Times Review
ADULTS LUG AROUND a five-piece Samsonite luggage set of love and intimacy issues, but most small children have none, or at the most, a carry-on. They are unencumbered by personal history, commitment issues or self-doubt. They just love. Four new valentines disguised as picture books examine age-appropriate love affairs of every stripe: from high-rise-dwelling kids to urban polar bears, from worms to an ink drop and a snowflake. Urbanites will understand true love's obstacle in David Teague and Antoinette Portis's "The Red Hat": the wind that whips through a city's upper stratosphere of apartments and penthouses. Apparently it doesn't menace only flimsy terrace furniture and small barbecue grills, but potential friendships as well. The wind also seems to have blown away any unnecessary visual fussiness in Portis's charming illustration style, which depicts just the right amount of detail and drama with its bold lines and limited color palette. Our hero, Billy Hightower, lives "atop the world's tallest building," high above rain and clouds, but not high enough to escape the fierce wind and a sense of loneliness. A skyscraper rises across the way, and so does Billy's hope of finding a friend when he spots a solitary girl wearing a red hat on the building's roof. Rather than fighting his adversary the wind, cleverly represented by Portis as swirling laminated lines, almost invisible over the art and text, Billy tries to use it to connect with the girl. He misfires several times, ultimately failing big-time and being swept all the way to the ground. Billy is down, but he's not out, and in Teague and Portis's simple universe, a friendship is born. Alessandro Gatti and Pierdomenico Baccalario's "The Story of Snowflake and Inkdrop" may not be about humans, but the journey of these two unlikely soul mates is deeply rooted in humanity. The book's clever design allows the reader to choose which solitary expedition to follow first - Snowflake's or Inkdrop's - with two front covers and two stories that connect in the middle. Simona Mulazzani's lush illustrations take the reader to two distinctly different worlds: inside an artist's art-filled studio, where a drop of ink waits patiently to be put to use, and outside to a serene snow-blanketed town, where a snowflake wonders where it will land. Both worlds are colorful and lovely and enhance the protagonists' desire to fling themselves into the unknown in order to find love. This tale is punctuated with several diecut pages of geometric snowflakes and organic ink-drop shapes. Text, illustration and design culminate harmoniously in the center of the book to elevate this unlikely love affair. Gender roles are imposed on us all. As adults, we mostly accept, rail against, or at least acknowledge them, but as far as the youngest of lovers are concerned, the point is moot. J.J. Austrian and Mike Curato's "Worm Loves Worm," in which two worms of the hermaphroditic variety fall in love, brilliantly explores the idea of love between two beings, regardless of gender (or species) and despite societal pressures. Curato's spare but sure silhouetted images and Austrian's straightforward text are a perfect match to deliver the simple story of two characters who just want to declare their love and commit to each other. With patience and good cheer they accept the various matrimonial trappings offered to them by their well-meaning insect friends, like a wedding party, a cake and rings - even though they have no fingers. The all-embracing spirit of the story is best represented by the worm couple's lack of regard for traditional wedding garb: Each wears bits and pieces of a tuxedo and a wedding dress during the ceremony. Caron Levis and Charles Santoso tackle the sadness that ultimately comes with love in "Ida, Always." Inspired by two real-life polar bears, Gus and Ida, who were residents of New York City's Central Park Zoo, this wonderful story about the loss of a loved one is beautifully told. It's an example of children's books at their best. Santoso's dense, luscious paintings give the couple a solid, reassuring world to live in, which changes in tone and hue according to the characters' emotional state throughout the story. The bears live an idyllic life, playing ball, splashing in the water and sleeping. But their favorite shared experience is sitting on their beloved rock listening to the sounds of the city, something Ida calls "the city's heartbeat." One day Ida doesn't come out of her cave. Gus at first is bored, then confused, and finally hysterical, after Sonya the zookeeper explains that Ida is so sick she will soon die. Together Gus and Ida stomp, snarl and howl against Ida's fate, until they arrive at acceptance. The rest of the story follows Ida's last days, which are filled with not only grief but affection, humor and some "fishy treats." The zoo's visitors mourn Ida's passing, but no one feels the loss more than Gus. The city moves on, and Gus does too, although his life is different. He still plays ball, splashes in the water and sits on their rock listening to the city's heartbeat, but he does it alone. He has known love, but experienced its hardest aspect. Your lover may not live forever, but if you're lucky, their love will live on in your heart. This is a difficult story to tell for both children and adults, but "Ida, Always" does it with simplicity and grace. DAN YACCARINO'S picture books include "Every Friday" and "Unlovable." He is the creator of the animated TV series "Oswald" and "Willa's Wild Life."
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [February 7, 2016]
Review by Booklist Review
Worm and Worm love each other and want to get married. A cheerful assortment of cartoon bugs, rendered in pencil and Photoshop on open, white backgrounds, give the couple a lot of advice about wedding traditions. They'll need a best beetle, bride's bees, a white dress, a tuxedo, and so on. None of that stuff matters to Worm and Worm, but they're agreeable. They'll wear rings like belts (they don't have fingers) and get cake for their friends, even though they only eat dirt. When asked who's the bride and who's the groom, however, they're firm: We can be both. Cricket objects, since that's not how it's done, and the worms cheerfully reply, Then we'll just change how it's done. This timely title is a warm and easy way to introduce the idea of same-sex marriage to children, and given that many worm species are hermaphroditic, the character choice is particularly apt. Many children will grasp the larger message marriage is about love while others may simply enjoy the warm characters and comical story.--Whitehurst, Lucinda Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
How do you explain a revolution to a young audience? This book is a terrific start. Worm and Worm are in love and want to get married. All of their invertebrate friends are good with that, as long as the couple has a traditional wedding with all the trimmings: a cake, attendants, dancing, rings, and an officiant (a suitably officious cricket). The worms are slightly dazed but grateful for their friends' enthusiasm, and they even realize that, lacking fingers, they can wear the rings as belts. Then their friends make one more demand: there can only be one bride and one groom: that's "how it's always been done." And that's when the worms show they have a spine. "We can be both," they insist, mixing and matching veils, tuxes, dresses, and top hats. "We'll just change how it's done." Debut author Austrian proves that it's possible to be silly and incisive at the same time, while Curato (the Little Elliot books) works in a stripped-down style that subtly reinforces the "all you need is love" message. Ages 4-8. Illustrator's agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-In addition to sharing a first name, Worm and Worm love each other and decide to get married. Their friends have several ideas about what the wedding needs: someone to perform the service, a best beetle, bride's bees, rings, a band, cake, and outfits. When the best beetle and bride's bees start fretting about who is the bride and who is the groom, both worms declare that they are willing to be the bride and the groom. Cricket the officiant declares that's not how it's done, but Worm and Worm decide to change tradition and are happily married. With a white backdrop to each page, Curato's pencil and Photoshop illustrations convey the emotions each creature feels as it makes elaborate plans for the wedding. The story is nicely paced and can be a great way to introduce children to what might happen at a wedding. Most important, though, are the subtle yet effective messages of what's important when two individuals decide to wed. VERDICT With its cute critters, sweet story, and messages of equality, this is a first purchase that celebrates the fact that love always wins.-Liz Anderson, D.C. Public Library © Copyright 2015. 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
When Worm and Worm decide to marry, their animal friends offer "that's how it's always been done"type advice, some ridiculous ("You'll need to get rings"); characters appear against white backdrops, which distills the story's abiding humor. Readers will be won over long before this higher-order message book gently broaches its love-is-love concept ("which one of you is the bride?"). (c) Copyright 2016. 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
Austrian and Curato turn the simple wedding of two worms into a three-ring circus that slyly turns the whole controversy over same-sex versus heterosexual marriage on its head. "Worm loves Worm. Let's be married,' says Worm to Worm. Yes!' answers Worm. Let's be married.' " Seems simple to the two worms but not to the other woodland critters. Cricket insists on officiating. "That's how it's always been done" is his oft-repeated refrain. Beetle wants to be the best beetle, the Bees want to be the bride's bees, the worms must wear rings, and they need a band to dance to, flowers, and a cake. The intendeds solve all these issues as well as the question of who's the bride, who's the groom. " I can be the bride,' says Worm. I can, too,' says Worm." They both are also the groom. One wears a veil, bow tie, gold ring, and black trousers; the other sports a top hat, gold ring, and flouncy white skirt. The wedding party is in awe, save uptight Cricket. " We'll just change how it's done,' says Worm." And so they do, and they are married at last..."because Worm loves Worm." Curato's pencil-and-Photoshop illustrations use white backgrounds to great effect, keeping the characters front and center. The two worms are differentiated only by their eyes: one has black dots, and the other has white around the black dots. As in life, love conquers all. (Picture book. 3-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
