Review by New York Times Review
SOUTH Written and illustrated by Daniel Duncan. 32 pp. Abrams. $17.95. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) A lonely fisherman out at sea; a stowaway bird; a broken wing. From these timeless elements Duncan's debut creates a lovely, wistful tale of cross-species friendship and the lengths we'll go to for "a fellow traveler." Duncan's art combines profusions of detailed pen lines and cloudy, moody washes of paint, uniting the human-made precision of shipboard life and the endless expanses of the sky and sea, above and below. Like the best seafaring picture books, this one both evokes deep, unaccountable emotions, and soothes them. PAX AND BLUE Written and illustrated by Lori Richmond. 32 pp. Paula Wiseman/ Simon & Schuster. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) City kids are at their most creative when it comes to finding ways to connect to the natural world, as Richmond's sprightly debut as author- illustrator shows. Pax has a bond with Blue, a neighborhood pigeon he feeds. When Blue follows him and his mom onto the subway, chaos ensues. The bird, Pax knows, is more terrified than the people, giving the boy a chance to help a friend in need. Richmond's spare pages have a friendly, retro look that calls to mind Syd Hoff's welcoming urban spaces (though her people are, oddly, all white). MY BEAUTIFUL BIRDS Written and illustrated by Suzanne Del Rizzo. 32 pp. Pajama Press. $17.95. (Picture book; ages 6 to 10) If you've been wondering how to present the refugee crisis to children without losing faith in humanity, take a look at this graceful, even uplifting book. Del Rizzo's stunning dimensional art, made mostly of clay, can't help feeling playful, and the story brims with hope. We see Sami, a Syrian boy, on the roof of his house, where he lovingly tends his pigeons. But soon his family is walking away from their burning city to a refugee camp. He can barely speak, until he begins painting his birds, then meets new ones, and a new friend. THE CRANE GIRL Adapted by Curtis Manley from Japanese folk tales. Illustrated by Lin Wang. 36 pp. Shen's Books/Lee & Low. $18.95. (Picture book; ages 6 to 8) Haiku float like falling feathers throughout this nifty reworking of Japanese folktale, about a boy who rescues a trapped crane. A mysterious girl who arrives at the boy's home offers to weave silk to help the family finances. She's so successful that the boy's father becomes lazy and cruel. When she runs away the boy discovers that she is, in fact, the crane. Manley has created a happy, bird-loving ending: The boy becomes a crane too; they fly into eternity together. Wang's art evokes traditional Asian styles, but with cinematic, souped-up action. THE HAWK OF THE CASTLE A Story of Medieval Falconry By Danna Smith. Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. 40 pp. Candlewick. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 6 to 10) Smith's rhyming story of a medieval girl who learns falconry from her father delivers loads of information about hawking, in the chronicle of a day out hunting and in sidebars about details like the bells on the bird's legs (to help the falconer find the bird once it's gotten the prey). Ibatoulline invites you into his sweeping, realistic scenes with cleverly shifting perspectives. But perhaps most thrilling is a book with a castle featuring a girl who's curious and accomplished, with her social status and marital prospects blissfully beside the point. See an expanded visual presentation of this week's columns at nytimes.com/books.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [August 30, 2019]
Review by Booklist Review
Lovely full-color illustrations adorn this appealing adaptation of a traditional Japanese folktale with a nontraditional ending. Original haiku is interspersed throughout, enriching the engaging story. While gathering wood on a cold winter evening, Yasuhiro hears from the darkness an animal's sudden cry its fear, and mine and gently frees a crane whose leg is held in a trap. The next evening, the boy and his father, Ryota, welcome in Hiroko, a girl who appears at their house requesting to stay, as she has nowhere else to go. Offering to weave silk to bring in money, she makes the father and son promise to not enter the room while she is working. Ryota gets paid very well for Hiroko's beautiful cloth (white silk speckled with black tracks of winter birds) and becomes greedy. Ultimately breaking his promise to Hiroko, Ryota's actions permanently impact all their lives. The author's note provides information on Japanese poetry, crane folktales, and the red-crowned crane. Folktale collections will benefit greatly by the addition of this title.--Owen, Maryann Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-4-Snatches of haiku add depth to this story based on traditional Japanese folktales. One evening, Yasuhiro hears a noise: "from the darkness/an animal's sudden cry-/its fear and mine." He follows the sound to a crane caught in a trap and releases it. The grateful crane reappears the next evening in human form. Yasuhiro's father allows Hiroko to stay with them, but insists that she earn her place through hard work. Hiroko offers to weave cloth on the loom of Yasuhiro's late mother but only after father and son promise they won't open the door or look at her while she weaves. She produces a bolt of cloth-"white silk/speckled with black-/tracks of winter birds"-which is sold for a high price at market. Yasuhiro's father is delighted at first but grows greedy. His demands eventually reveal the secret behind Hiroko's weaving, and she flees and returns to her original form. The love that has developed between Yasuhiro and Hiroko enables Yasuhiro to become a crane as well: "matching/her wingbeats-/my heart soars." The story ends with a pair of nesting cranes. An author's note explains that reciprocity, known as on in Japanese, is at the heart of many traditional tales, along with respect for the natural world. The author's note also discusses the forms of haiku and facts about the red-crowned crane. Exquisite watercolor illustrations accompany the text. Somber landscapes depicting a harsh wintry land contrast with Hiroko's scarlet kimono. VERDICT This well-crafted tale offers students an introduction to traditional Japanese culture and folklore and should be a welcome addition in public and school libraries.-Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA © Copyright 2017. 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
A popular Japanese folk tale in which a crane pays back an obligation by becoming human is retold with an unusual ending and with haiku-sprinkled prose. In this version, Yasuhiroa young man who lives with Ryota, his embittered, widowed fathercarefully frees an enormous crane from a trap pinning its foot to the snow-covered, "sharp buckwheat stubble of the landlord's field." As the crane flies away, Yasuhiro heads for home with firewood he has been gathering. Two nights later a beautiful maiden appears at the door, asking for a place to live in exchange for labor. Ryota accepts her offer, warning her that she must work hard and not be lazy or steal. When Ryota's own attempts to find manual labor dwindle, the maiden, who calls herself Hiroko, offers to weave silk for him to sell, with the caveat that neither he nor Yasuhiro open the door of the weaving room while she is inside. The polished, full-color illustrations, strongly reminiscent of art by the fairy-tale illustrator Adrienne Segur, complement the lyrical text. Interspersed, color-coded haiku reveal the characters' unspoken thoughts, adding an excellent dimension with potential for drama-group presentations. Although it's a bit hard to believe that strapping Yasuhiro does little to bring home the tofu, the story otherwise rings satisfyingly true. More from this team would be a welcome addition to folk-tale collections. (pronunciation guide, author's notes) (Picture book/folk tale. 4-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
