Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Drawn from their beds by noises downstairs, the narrator and her little brother, Tito, peer into the kitchen to find that their parents have turned dinner cleanup into a rambunctious, Latin-flavored song and dance number. Mama swishes her ruffled skirt and Papa croons into a wooden spoon ("Como te quiero! Oh, how I love you. Umm, hmm"). The performance reaches its peak with a flourish worthy of Fred and Ginger: "My mother twists, and my father catches her by the waist and bends her low," writes Manning (The Aunts Go Marching), mixing awe with incredulity. "There is silence for a moment." As the rounded, sculptural bodies of the couple move about the kitchen with humor and grace, the illustrations take on a cinematic sense of motion and space. This is Manning's most exuberant work yet, a winning tribute to happy feet and happy families. Ages 3-6. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-A young girl lies in bed listening to the sounds emanating from the kitchen. "Scrape! Splash! Clunk! Clang!.Then something else-a deep voice humming a tune, and someone laughing." She wakes up her brother, Tito, "Oye! Do you hear?" Together they tiptoe down the stairs, peek into the kitchen, and gaze upon a playful and obviously happy couple. Their father is singing to their mother in Spanish and English, using a wooden spoon as a microphone, "Cmo te quiero! Oh how I love you." They dance around the kitchen drying dishes, opening and closing cabinets, oblivious to all except one another. Then Mama spots the two children. "Hola!" she says. She picks up the girl, Papa picks up the boy-now they all sing, "Oh, how I love you!" as they "twirl around and around in a circle of family." Faces nestled, the children grow sleepy and are carried back upstairs. "Sweet dreams." Full of vitality, simple, and touching, this picture book presents a celebration of family through words and expressive, exuberant pictures. Wonderful.-Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH (c) Copyright 2010. 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
"Scrape! Splash! Clunk! Clang!...I hear kitchen sounds," says the curly-headed narrator as she and little brother Tito wake up to the sounds of their parents' kitchen dance. Creeping downstairs, they see mother and father as "[s]ide by side with stacked plates they glide," turning the routine of washing-up into a loving and even rather sexy tango. When Mama spots the two children, she and Papa sweep them up into an affectionate foursome, all singing, "Cmo te quiero!" Manning depicts this Afro-Latino family with verve, tilted angles and bright colors providing movement and warmth as tall, skinny Papa and slightly zaftig Mama strut their stuff. The full-bleed, double-page spreads radiate happiness in every line. It's In the Night Kitchen decloaked; how salutary for childrenprotagonists and readers bothto see a set of parents loving each other with such abandon and enthusiasm. Their joyful inclusion of the kids makes this book read like one long, wonderful hugas the narrator says, after being tucked back into bed with a couple extra besitos, "Umm, hmm." (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
