Review by New York Times Review
Dreamy marshmallows, rude animals, a portal to a mirror world: These gorgeous books expand minds. I CAN ONLY DRAW WORMS Written and illustrated by Will Mabbitt. Maybe Mabbitt can't draw many things, but boy, can he conceive and execute a witty, surprising, maximum fun picture book. Oh, and this one doubles as a counting exercise. Having announced that worms are his entire repertoire, Mabbitt proceeds to wrangle 10 neon-bright ones onto the pages, with hilarious difficulty. They're so hard to tell apart. And poor worm No. 8: "It's not true that if a worm is cut in half it makes two worms," we learn. "It makes two half worms." 32 pp. Penguin. $14.99. (Ages 3 to 5) THE SUN SHINES EVERYWHERE Written by Mary Ann Hoberman. Illustrated by Luciano Lozano. If you're as picky about rhyming picture books as I am, you'll be excited that the former children's poet laureate Hoberman, whose meter never falters, has created this clever ode to the sun and its globe-spanning, life-giving power. With Lozano's cheerful art, the pages fly by, dropping tidbits of geoscience and empathy-building name-checks of far-off places: "Some children live in Paris / And others live in Rome. / Some children dwell in New Rochelle / And some call China home." (But why no mention of Africans?) 32 pp. Little, Brown. $17.99. (Ages 3 to 7) MOST MARSHMALLOWS Written and illustrated by Rowboat Watkins. Can marshmallows be exquisite? That's the word that leaps to mind for this new picture book from Watkins ("Rude Cakes," "Big Bunny"), which is full of irresistible handmade figures and precisely detailed diorama art. With their delicately penciled-on faces and outfits, the marshmallows in this world are everyday folks: "They go to school most mornings / and learn to be squishy / and how to stand in rows," and they live in houses and celebrate birthdays. Like all Watkins's books, this one has wonderfully compact language and an ending that surprises, with a rousing, wholehearted imaginative leap. It turns out even humble marshmallows can - and should - dream big. 40 pp. Chronicle. $16.99. (Ages 3 to 7) ANOTHER Written and illustrated by Christian Robinson. Robinson's first book as both author and illustrator is a gentle, wordless wonder that follows a little girl and her cat after they find a portal into another world. There, children and pets encounter mirror versions of themselves - wearing different-colored clothes, so you can tell which is which. Robinson's geometric precision combines with his flatout adorable collaged characters to make for a unique kind of enchantment. You'll find yourself rotating the book to try to put the story's sophisticated puzzle together. 32 pp. Atheneum. $17.99. (Ages 3 to 8) A STORY THAT GROWS Written and illustrated by Gilles Bachelet. This nifty bedtime book from the esteemed French illustrator Bachelet has a parent-child pair of creatures on every spread. Each kid is in a species-specific crib, ready to hear a story that takes off in an appropriate direction: The ostrich's story "hatches," the snail's story "takes ... its ... time." The creatures, who include a truck and a Martian, are not named - this book asks for, and will reward, intense visual reading from young listeners, as they pore over the gorgeous, kooky bedrooms, filled with hilarious customized beds and toys. 32 pp. Eerdmans. $16. (Ages 3 to 7) OINK Written and illustrated by David Elliot. Elliot's funny story is told in animal sounds and onomatopoeia ("Mooo!" and "Boing!"). One by one, unruly animals join a pig in his bathtub. Pig looks distraught, then angry, until he creates a tub-clearing moment (think unidentified bubbles) and enjoys his bath in peace. The delicacy and subtlety of the art only adds to the frisky humor. 32 pp. Gecko. $16.99. (Ages 3 to 7) THE LITTLE GUYS Written and illustrated by Vera Brosgol. The little acorn-capped creatures in Brosgol's ("Leave Me Alone!") latest gem think they're "the strongest guys in the whole forest" - there are so many of them, after all. Marching and climbing together, they try to dominate bigger animals. As they try to yank a berry from a baby bird's mouth, they crash to earth. Chastened, they climb back up to feed the whole nest. What a fantastic message: not just "teamwork," but actual community. 40 pp. Roaring Brook. $17.99. A GREEN PLACE TO BE The Creation of Central Park Written and illustrated by Ashley Benham Yazdani. This delightful slice of history shows the hard work and careful planning that went into one of the world's great outdoor public spaces, New York City's "vibrant jewel." Yazdani's mesmerizing watercolor and pencil art teems with fascinating details as it makes the park's past and present seem unified, driving home the importance of creating and preserving "quiet green spots in a fast-changing world." 40 pp. Candlewick. $17.99. (Ages 7 to 10) MARIA RUSSO is the children's books editor at the Book Review.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [July 11, 2019]
Review by Booklist Review
This enjoyable and accessible story of the creation of one of the world's most famous parks opens with a wonderful scene: a modern, sunny day, done in pencil and watercolor (with some digital help), showing Central Park populated by charming and diverse cartoon-style people. We then jump back to earlier muddy days, when the land was more swamp-like. In 1858, the city held a contest to find a design for the park, which was won by Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted the latter became known as the very first landscape architect. The text acknowledges that some African American New Yorkers lost their homes to make way. The hard work of the construction and popularity of the park is demonstrated with humorous and insightful details in the pictures, which are spread across wide pages and introduce experts such as the creators of unique bridges. Strong back matter, in which Yazdani highlights the park's social and environmental roles, anchors this visually appealing, well-written, and all-around successful informational picture book, which celebrates that parks all across America were made for you. --Andrew Medlar Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Yazdani's debut picture book depicts the birth, bustle, and beauty of New York City's iconic Central Park. Vibrant watercolor illustrations full of period detail tell the park's story, beginning with a design contest in 1958. Essential to the tale are architect Calvert Vaux and park superintendent (and famed landscape architect) Frederick Law Olmsted, who win the design competition with their idea for "a green gift to everyone." The story's initial pages show African-American families having to leave their homes to make way for the park; the loss of their community, known as Seneca Village, is one of several additional facts briefly mentioned in the back matter. The Lake, the Ramble, and the Children's District are shown humming with the activity of wealthy-looking 19th-century parkgoers enjoying the amenities, as smaller vignettes focus on a few of the park's aesthetic touches; in one double spread, the park's many and varied bridges surround their designer. Watercolor scenes include a wide range of people enjoying the nascent park, and a final spread of diverse modern-day parkgoers reinforces Olmsted and Vaux's idea for this egalitarian enclave. An author's note and bibliography conclude. Ages 7-10. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by Horn Book Review
New York Citys iconic Central Park attracts everyone from daily walkers to tourists and performers; debut author and illustrator Yazdani tells the story of how the park came to be. Beginning with the determination of visionaries Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted, the book then moves to the multi-stage construction of the park (with details of its paths, architectural elements, and plantings shown in clear and eye-pleasing illustrations) and concludes with Central Parks completion in 1876. Throughout, the book is full of glorious green landscapes with happy people enjoying them. The watercolor and pencil pictures are nicely balanced with Yazdanis lively text, full of fascinating informational tidbits. The harsh truth that homes and communities were destroyed to make the park is briefly acknowledged (Seneca Village is named and described as a well-known community of free African Americans in the end notes; those wanting to know more should seek out Marilyn Nelsons YA title My Seneca Village, rev. 11/15). Brief bios of Olmsted and Vaux, a few more lighthearted facts, an authors note, and a bibliography round out the back matter of this (generally) upbeat introduction to one of New York Citys most famous landmarks. monica edinger March/April 2019 p 106(c) Copyright 2019. 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
New Yorkers are still enjoying their very special place to walk, play ball, sail model boats, attend concerts, and so much more.In 1858, two visionary men entered a contest to design and build what remains today as a "vibrant jewel at the heart of New York City." That is, of course, Central Park, and it was the visionary work and attention to detail by Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted that created what is still an oasis of green. Opening with a double-page spread depicting the 1857 eviction of the African-American residents of Seneca Village, Yazdani then traces the white designers' collaboration, plans, process, and success through an engaging text and a delightful series of digitized pencil-and-watercolor illustrations. The land was a "swampland," and with a great deal of digging and planting it was transformed into a delightful place to ice skate in the winter or boat in the summer. Backmatter provides additional information about the two men, and in a Q-and-A, the author fills in further facts about the elm trees, the arches, and the African-American community forced from its home. Sharp-eyed readers are invited to find and count gray squirrels. Also of note is a double-page spread depicting the many bridges and arches that have been constructed. The parkgoers, both in the 19th century and today, are a diverse group. For park lovers everywhere. (author's note, bibliography) (Informational picture book. 7-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
