Review by New York Times Review
A talking tiger, a crocodile doctor, a sad pair of socks and more in these stories to fire up a kid's imagination. LITTLE DOCTOR AND THE FEARLESS BEAST Written and illustrated by Sophie Gilmore. Little Doctor is a specialist in crocodiles, as we can see from the enormous green patients who flock to her examination room (which, shhhh, may just be a backyard office). She ministers to them with deep concentration, applying long bandages and tender, expert care - and cures them all except a toughie called Big Mean, who refuses to unclasp her jaws. There's a scary trip inside the beast's mouth, and a happy ending involving the adorable hatchlings Big Mean was of course carrying in there. With its softly detailed, virtuoso art and a perfectly wrought story full of heart and respect for the imaginative rules of children's play, this debut shines. 32 pp. Owlkids. $17.95. (Ages 4 to 8.) THINKER: MY PUPPY POET AND ME By Eloise Greenfield. Illustrated by Ehsan Abdollahi. In this charming book of linked poems - the story of a pup who speaks, but only in verse - the distinguished children's poet Green-field glides gracefully between rhyme, free verse, haiku and rap. A boy named Jace becomes the dog's owner. He names him Thinker ("I'm deep and I'm a poet," the dog warns. "A cute name's not O.K.") and the two have back-and-forth chats about life. On every page, Abdollahi's collaged illustrations bring the characters to life with a soulful flair. 32 pp. Jabberwocky/Sourcebooks. $15.99. (Ages 4 to 8.) MY PAPI HAS A MOTORCYCLE By Isabel Quintero. Illustrated by Zeke Peña. Southern California is home to almost 24 million, yet few picture books show us life there, or tell stories about its vibrant immigrant communities. This delightful book bursts into the gap: A girl named Daisy takes a spin on the back of her carpenter papi's motorcycle, greeting friends and relatives, noting historical murals and stopping at his work site. "Even in all that noise, my papi's voice touches everything," she says. There's no earthshaking story, just the sweet rumble of family love, neighborhood pride, the dignity of work and the joy of a fast ride. Yet Quintero's warm, economical text and the desert-sunset tones of Pena's comics-inflected art feel like a revelation. 32 pp. Kokila/Penguin Random House. $17.99. (Ages 4 to 8.) VAMOS! LET'S GO TO THE MARKET By Raul the Third. Like "My Papi Has a Motorcycle," this book opens a welcome and welcoming door into Latino culture. Raul the Third also offers zany humor and low-key language lessons (assorted Spanish words are translated in the margins). Little Lobo, a nattily dressed wolf, makes deliveries to a marketplace of artisans, entertainers and vendors. "Everywhere people are going to work. Everyone has a different job," from puppeteer to pinata maker. With an array of interesting creatures and vignettes crammed into the illustrations, the effect is a high-spirited hybrid of Richard Scarry and Mexican comics. 48 pp. Versify/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. $14.99. (Ages 4 to 8.) SOCK STORY By CK Smouha. Illustrated by Eleonora Marton. Two socks, a pair, tumble around in the washing machine, doing tricks like "double axel triple flip" and annoying the larger items. It's all fun and games until the spin cycle, when they're separated - and one takes refuge in the pocket of a non-color-fast red shirt. Eek! Can an unmatching duo still be partners? Those raising a style-conscious child will know the answer these days is a resounding yes. Still, Smouha and Marton wring genuine suspense and edgy humor out of this clever, colorful tale. 32 pp. Cicada. $14.95. (Ages 4 to 8.) THE HIDEOUT By Susanna Mattiangeli. Illustrated by Felicita Sala. Nothing beats a secret place, and even better if, as in this enthralling story, it's hidden in a public space. Someone's calling Hannah, but she's decided to go live inside a bush in the park, wearing a feather cape, making a fire and befriending an Odd Furry Creature. Or did she just draw the whole thing? The homage here to "Where the Wild Things Are" may be subtle, but it brings a smile. 32 pp. Abrams. $16.99. (Ages 4 to 8.) POWER UP By Seth Fishman. Illustrated by Isabel Greenberg. Your pinkie, this innovative book explains, "has enough energy to light up one of the biggest cities in the world" for a day Fishman and Greenberg ("A Hundred Billion Trillion Stars") turn something kids instinctively understand - the energy in our bodies - into a lesson in biology and physics, and the real importance of food and sleep. 40 pp. Greenwillow/HarperCollins. $17.99. (Ages 4 to 8.) CAMP TIGER By Susan Choi. Illustrated by John Rocco. Summer's almost over, and the narrator of this sweetly mysterious first children's book by the literary novelist Choi is dreading the start of first grade. A family camping trip brings him face to face with a tiger - one that talks. With the tiger's help, the boy catches a fish and even, in a stunning wordless sequence, ventures into the woods at night to leap across rocks and howl at the moon. Rocco's ("Blackout") art gives an emotionally astute story even more depth. 40 pp. Putnam. $17.99. (Ages 5 to 8.) MARIA RUSSO is the children's books editor for the Book Review.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [May 12, 2019]
Review by Booklist Review
Daisy Ramona loves riding on the back of her papi's motorcycle. After a long day of work, Papi picks up Daisy, and they zigzag through the streets of their neighborhood, zooming past Tortillería la Estrella and Joy's Market. Daisy loves this time with her papi, but she also notices her neighborhood changing. Don Rudy's Raspados used to be their favorite spot, but it's gone out of business. Quintero tells a beautiful story about a special father-daughter bonding moment, layered with a tale of gentrification impacting their neighborhood. Young readers will relate to Daisy's anticipation to spend time with a loved one and will understand Daisy's concern for her changing community. Peña's dynamic illustrations a mix of digital techniques and watercolors in a muted, tropical palette are packed with action, smiles, tenderness, and resilience. The neighborhood Peña has created with his art fully captures the love Quintero's characters have for the cultural roots of their home. Occasional inset panels and text bubbles in the illustrations add more community voices and details to Daisy's story neighbors greet and cheer for her, dogs go wild as she zooms by. Andrea Montejo's translation in the Spanish edition accurately embraces the sentiment in Quintero's narrative. This is a heartwarming story that centers joy in the midst of looming change. Other Latinx children's books with themes of family and community include Juan Felipe Herrera's Grandma and Me at the Flea (2002) and Maybe Something Beautiful (2016), by F. Isabel Campoy.--Sonia Alejandra Rodríguez Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
When Papi gets home from work in his gray truck, his daughter is ready for their ritual, a nightly motorcycle ride: "I run outside with both of our helmets." Together, they zip through their California city, passing the market, the church, and murals that show "our history-of citrus groves and the immigrants who worked them." The landscape is changing: Papi and his fellow carpenters are building new houses where the groves once stood, and the shaved ice shop has gone out of business. Quintero and Peña, the team behind Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide, conjure up the ride's sights and sounds with sensory immediacy-the girl grasps her father's sawdusty shirt, sun-bleached pinks and oranges convey the lingering heat of evening, and stray cats run in front of the rumbling bike as neighborhood sounds reach the riders. Fresh graphic novel style art offers all the glory of a ride ("VROOOM"), and speech in balloons is a mix of Spanish and English alongside the English-only text. The love between the girl and her father is palpable, but her connection to her city (fleshed out in an author's note about Corona, Calif.) is at the story's heart. Ages 4-8. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-A radiant ode to a young girl's father and her L.A. neighborhood. Every evening, Daisy and her papi snap on their helmets (hers is purple with a unicorn, his a black vintage variety) and begin their ride on his electric blue motorcycle through Corona, CA. At times they "roar past" taquerias and murals, and other times they "cruise," greeting family and neighbors as they pass by. All the while, Daisy absorbs the sights, sounds, and smells of her beloved hometown, imprinting its idiosyncrasies into memory. Daisy's experiences mirror Quintero's childhood memories, recounted through tender language and vivid sensory details. Recalling the motorcycle rides with her papi is an exercise in familial love, but also a way to honor a hometown and present the changes from gentrification. Although the topic is touched upon lightly, its complexity percolates and becomes much more vivid with multiple reads. The illustrations faithfully capture the merriment and love through careful details and a low-key color palette that alludes to warm memories being made and recollected. Peña makes felicitous use of his comics chops, incorporating speech balloons with Spanish phrases, onomatopoeia, and panels to convey movement. Quintero's writing and Peña's art coalesce most beautifully in the infectious look of joy on Daisy's face throughout. VERDICT A book that radiates sheer happiness without shying from reality. Highly recommended for all libraries.-Jessica Agudelo, New York Public Library © Copyright 2019. 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
Quinteros picture-book text acts as an evocative love letter to her ap and to the interconnected web of Mexican immigrant working-class people who built her hometown of Corona, California. When Papi gets home from work, young Daisy jumps into his arms for a hug (the warmth of his body language expressing all the love he has trouble saying), then grabs their helmets, eager to zoom through their neighborhood on Papis speedy blue motorcycle before the sun goes down. Peas joyous digital and hand-painted watercolor illustrations capture the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and redbluegreenorangepink colors of the town. They observe the communitys many people and institutions that contribute to the well-being and harmony of everyone and everything [Daisy and Papi] pass on their motorcycle ride. Theres Abuelito and Abuelitas yellow house with the lemon tree and the nopales; murals that tell our history; theres Mr. Garca, the librarian in the Dodgers cap, with whom they exchange nods (this is how we always greet each other); and the raspados man. All of thisplus the texts nuanced alliteration, its use of Spanglish, and the realistic linguistic mix in the illustrations (even the cat says both meow and miau)marks the quotidian specificity shaping Daisys memory-making as well as her loving reflections on Coronas unfolding changes, its history and future. An appended authors note tells more about Quinteros inspiration. Concurrently published in Spanish as Mi papi tiene una moto. lettycia terrones (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
A screaming, bright-blue comet zooms through the streets of Corona, California, in a race against the orange setting sun. A unicorn-decorated purple helmet can't hide the grin of the young girl tightly gripping the waist of her carpenter father, who's hunched over his blazing motorcycle as a comet tail of sawdust streams behind them. Basking in her father's wordless expression of love, she watches the flash of colors zip by as familiar landmarks blend into one another. Changes loom all around them, from the abandoned raspado (snow cone) shop to the housing construction displacing old citrus groves. Yet love fills in the spaces between nostalgia and the daily excitement of a rich life shared with neighbors and family. Quintero's homage to her papi and her hometown creates a vivid landscape that weaves in and out of her little-girl memory, jarring somewhat as it intersects with adult recollections. At the end, her family buys raspados from a handcartare the vendor and defunct shop's owner one and the same? Pea's comic-book-style illustrations capture cultural-insider Mexican-American references, such as a book from Cathy Camper and Ral the Third's Lowrider series and the Indigenous jaguar mask on the protagonist's brother's T-shirt. Dialogue in speech bubbles incorporates both Spanish and English, and the gist of the conversation is easily followed; a fully Spanish edition releases simultaneously.Every girl should be so lucky as to have such a papi. (Picture book. 7-11) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
