Análisis semanal de editoriales
A helping-hands concept and fantastical illustrations elevate rhyming text in this earnest ecological counting book. Beginning with "One wide, sweeping sky./ Two honeybees," it counts up through bunnies, redwood trees, seagulls, and worms to "ten fields to plow." Then, at 10, it pivots: "Celebrating Earth--/ counting backwards now." From 10 to one, the text describes Earth-friendly actions of varying relevance to young readers, some unclear ("Six flannel shirts--too old?/ Cozier than new"), others actionable ("Five lamps to light a room?/ Try to use just two"), and some aspirational ("Four pairs of socks with holes?/ You can learn to sew"). A series of "ones" ends the book: "One moon.// One sun./ One Earth/ so beautiful.// Remember--/ only one." As the text conveys the preciousness of a single Earth, Coelho's illustrations portray it with soft, pencil-like texture. Ages 4--8. (Mar.) |
Reseña de Kirkus
A counting book uses rhyming verses to explore the natural world and then ways children can help protect it. "One wide sweeping sky. / Two honeybees. // Three bunnies in a nest. / Four redwood trees." Readers follow in the pictures as a lone child with light-brown skin in a baseball cap slowly gathers three other friends over the page turns and the course of a day: a dark-skinned girl with an Afro, a pale-skinned blonde, and another boy with light-brown skin and (oddly) a bouffant. In the middle of the book, the count turns around: "Ten scraps of litter? / Toss them in the trash. / Nine empty bottles? / Turn them in for cash." And so the four, separately and together, and with myriad family and diverse community members, explore ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Brilliant colors and detailed patterns draw eyes to the illustrations, which are the true stars here. Their vibrancy will entrance readers, who may not even bother to count. The counting is a vehicle, not the purpose, so the fact that the items may be challenging for younger readers to pick out doesn't detract in the slightest. Readers may get goose bumps as the book winds down and night falls. "One moon. // One sun. / One Earth so beautiful." The book's final line resonates: "Remember-- / only one." (Picture book. 3-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission. |