SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: CHARLES & RAY
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: www.jamesyang.com/
CITY: Brooklyn
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COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 378
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1960, in OK; married Abby Chan (a choreographer and performance artist).
EDUCATION:Virginia Commonwealth University, B.F.A., 1983.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Illustrator, author, sculptor, and educator. Editorial artist; freelance illustrator for numerous publications, organizations, and companies; has taught and lectured at institutions including the School of Visual Arts, Parsons School of Design, and the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, NY, and the Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA. Exhibitions: sculpture “Clockman” was exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of History, 1999.
AVOCATIONS:Golf, tennis.
AWARDS:Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, 2020, for Stop! Bot!; recipient of over 200 awards for design and illustration excellence.
WRITINGS
Contributor of illustrations to periodicals and trade publications, including Audubon, Bloomberg, BusinessWeek, Communication Arts, Computerworld, Eight by Eight, Forbes, Fortune Golf Digest, Graphis, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, New York Times, Print, Scientific American, Sports Illustrated, 3×3, Time, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Wired.
SIDELIGHTS
In addition to the acclaim he has received as an editorial artist, James Yang has established a reputation in the children’s literature field with his self-illustrated picture books. He has also illustrated other authors’ works. [open new]Yang was born and raised in rural Oklahoma, where his family were the only Koreans in town. As phrased by Lindsey Giardino of Story Monsters Ink, “there were awkward moments” as his peers learned to discuss racial differences in middle school. Yang told Giardino, “But those moments helped form my sense of humor, which made me pretty popular. The experience also gave a sense of being on the outside looking in, which is perfect for an artist or writer.” Yang added, “There are more happy memories than not and it eventually led me to a place where I’m comfortable in my skin.”[suspend new]
“My grandfather, Yang Dal Suk, was an established painter who has work in the Busan Museum of Art in Busan, Korea,” Yang explained in an interview with Robert Newman for AI-AP. “My father was a scientist and very supportive about me pursuing a career in art. This was in the 60s, when it was very unusual for Koreans to encourage children to pursue the arts. Mom was hesitant but supportive after an art teacher in elementary school told them I had talent. My parents resigned themselves to me turning into an artist so they did the best they could to improve my chances.”
[resume new]Yang attended Virginia Commonwealth University, where he earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in communication arts and design.[suspend new]“My summer job during college years was selling and designing advertising for the local newspaper in my city,” Yang continued in his interview with Newman. “Looking back it was a great job because I had to meet store owners and try to sell ad space for a special section of the paper. It was a small town so everyone was supportive. It was a great opportunity to use illustration for many clients and most of them were willing to go with my ideas. It was a great experience and a lot of fun hanging out in a small newsroom.” [re-resume new]The excitement surrounding news of the Watergate scandal inspired Yang toward editorial illustration, and among his first clients as a freelance illustrator was the Washington Post. He has since illustrated for a slew of magazines, organizations, and companies, ranging from Fortune and the New York Times to Sony and ESPN to the World Bank and Amnesty International. He has also created wallpaper for trains on the New York City subway.[suspend new]
Joey and Jet, Yang’s debut self-illustrated picture book, and its sequel, Joey and Jet in Space, feature the adventures of a boy and his dog with a retro feel. The volumes present simple concepts in engaging and animated stories highlighted by Yang’s simply drawn, digital pen-and-ink art. Praising Yang for his focus on prepositions such as “over,” “across,” and “between,” a Kirkus Reviews critic cited Joey and Jet as “an excellent introduction to what can usually be a difficult concept for youngsters,” while Booklist critic Ilene Cooper commended the “simple yet intriguing landscapes” that set the stage for Yang’s “clever, energetic romp.” Dubbing Joey and Jet a “visually enticing pseudo-primer,” a Publishers Weekly critic also noted that Yang’s “artwork harks back to a 1950s aesthetic with its patterns and palette,” a retro-inspired combination of orange and lime green.
Yang’s “point is more subtle” in Joey and Jet in Space, according to a Kirkus Reviews writer, the critic describing the story as a “much-needed … push for imaginative play.” As the simple text plays out, Joey and his pup are outside, pretending that they are exploring outer space. When Jet runs off to find his bone, Joey is left to search for the missing pup, until a welcome voice beckons the two space travelers home for lunch. In her School Library Journal review of Joey and Jet in Space, JoAnn Jonas wrote that Yang’s “clever story is visually engaging” due to the “humorous retro imagery” and a story that is “on target for the intended audience.”
In Bus! Stop!, Yang again establishes a simple pattern and then takes it to wonderfully absurd lengths. A boy misses the school bus and has to wait for the next one to arrive. However, although a number of vehicles pass in front of him, none of them remotely resembles his bus. “Yang establishes a pattern from the getgo,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor, “piling on the outlandish and the fab (a bounce house in a domed bus?) in broad strokes.” “The bus he finally boards via rope ladder,” explained Booklist reviewer Becca Worthington, “is held afloat by helium balloons.” “As they float away,” stated Gay Lynn Van Vleck in School Library Journal, “the boy sees a girl rushing to catch this bus—but she misses it,” and the cycle begins again.
Bus! Stop! is “not really an autobiographical book, but is inspired by living in New York,” Yang explained in an interview found in Let’s Talk Picture Books. “One day my wife and I were waiting at a stop for a bus in the city, and it was taking longer than usual. We kept seeing vehicles in the distance which we thought were our bus, and as it got closer we saw it was vehicles not even remotely resembling our bus. It’s a trick the mind plays when you’re waiting.” “Yang’s stylized, offbeat characters and ‘buses,’” concluded a Publishers Weekly reviewer, “give this story of transportation lost and found a quirky universality.”
A runaway robot draws the attention of city apartment dwellers in Yang’s 2019 book, Stop! Bot! One day a family is strolling by a skyscraper apartment building when the young brother declares that he has a remote controlled robot. Just then, the robot begins to rise higher and higher out of reach of the remote control’s influence. Perplexed, the family stares on as the building doorman chases after the rising robot. As the robot levitates higher and higher, residents of the apartment pitch in to help recover the out-of-control robot. One resident tries to offer help in the way of a broom but cannot reach the robot. Other apartment dwellers try but ultimately fail to help as the robot ascends even higher. All is not lost, however, when an unlikely hero with hairy arms and a taste for bananas comes to the rescue. A contributor to Publishers Weekly commented on the book’s art and construction: “Yang works within the constraints of the building’s form to generate intriguing possibilities presented with clarity and wit.” “The visual details invite interaction, making it a good choice for storytime or solo inspection,” concluded a contributor to Kirkus Reviews.
In A Boy Named Isamu: A Story of Isamu Noguchi, about the famed Japanese artist’s boyhood, Isamu is overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of a Japanese market. Walking through the crowded market with his mother, Isamu makes many observations and inevitably makes a break for a location that will offer peace and solace. The market is a claustrophobic mass of people milling about stalls and pouring over wares. Isamu is drawn to the beautifully colored paper lanterns and then further off the path out of the market toward a place among the trees. On his way out of the market he passes by a group of children playing and barely takes notice except to observe them as he passes by. Once in the forest, Isamu is calmer and has time to observe the peace and tranquility of the fallen leaves. He makes his way through the winding woods to a beach. It is there that his mother finally finds him as she shouts in relief. She had been looking for Isamu the entire time. “Less a biography than an attentive, balanced study of an artist’s sensibility, this story ends with an author’s note about Noguchi,” wrote a contributor to Publishers Weekly. A Kirkus Reviews contributor called A Boy Named Isamu “a marvel of prose, illustration, and design that invites repeated meditation.”
[re-re-resume new]Go, Sled! Go! opens with a child innocently perched atop a sledding hill, ready to descend. But a bunny gets perilously caught in the sled’s path—and ends up onboard. Likewise joining the child on the yellow toboggan via collision are a snowman, a moose, penguins, and a baker who cannot quite hold on to her cakes. At a critical juncture, the addition of a snowflake tips the scales, propelling the sledding party into a whirlwind finale. For the text of this title, Yang took inspiration from the old “Mister Bill” skits on Saturday Night Live, helping make it a parent pleaser. A Kirkus Reviews writer hailed Go, Sled! Go! as “an earnest, pleasant romp” that proves “simply fun, ripe for repeat reads.”
Speaking with Peggy Roalf of AI-AP about his inspiration for writing a book about Ray Eames and her husband, Charles—designers in the same tradition as Isamu Noguchi—Yang cited his boyhood love for The Jetsons and the fun and functional decor in the cartoon future family’s home. Yang related: “The first time I saw a version of the famous Eames chair as a child my reaction was ‘OMG it’s a Jetsons chair!’ and suddenly a little Korean boy in Oklahoma was a fan of Mid-Century Design.” The part of the Eames’ story he found most compelling was “the fun and collaboration they had with the creative process.”
Charles & Ray: Designers at Play; A Story of Charles and Ray Eames introduces young readers to Charles Eames, an architect, and Ray, a painter. With Charles attending to structure and form and Ray to color and appearance, the married couple made a perfect design team. Fiddling and tinkering with everything from blocks to balls to wires, they designed surprisingly small tables, unique drying racks, and toys for all ages. They are best remembered for the form-fitting chair that resulted from a long process of trial and error, marked by patience and determination. “Incorporating colors and forms associated with their work,” observed a Kirkus Reviews writer, Yang offers an “evocative” and thoughtful “tribute to the playful, creative husband-and-wife … icons of midcentury modern design.”[close new]
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, January 1, 2005, Ilene Cooper, review of Joey and Jet, p. 876; February 1, 2018, Becca Worthington, review of Bus! Stop!, p. 60.
Horn Book, January-February, 2023, Adrienne L. Pettinelli, review of Go, Sled! Go!, p. 73.
Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2004, review of Joey and Jet, p. 751; May 15, 2006, review of Joey and Jet in Space, p. 525; January 15, 2018, review of Bus! Stop!; April 15, 2019, review of Stop! Bot!; May 15, 2021, review of A Boy Named Isamu: A Story of Isamu Noguchi; September 15, 2022, review of Go, Sled! Go!; April 1, 2024, review of Charles & Ray: Designers at Play; A Story of Charles and Ray Eames.
Publishers Weekly, October 4, 2004, review of Joey and Jet, p. 86; April 13, 2009, review of Puzzlehead, p. 47; December 18, 2017, review of Bus! Stop!, p. 125; April 29, 2019, review of Stop! Bot!, p. 82; April 12, 2021, review of A Boy Named Isamu, p. 72.
School Library Journal, October, 2004, Lisa Gangemi Kropp, review of Joey and Jet, p. 137; June, 2006, JoAnn Jonas, review of Joey and Jet in Space, p. 130; May, 2009, Blair Christolon, review of Puzzlehead, p. 92; February, 2018, Gay Lynn Van Vleck, review of Bus! Stop!, p. 68; April, 2023, Sue Morgan, review of Spark, Shine, Glow! What a Light Show, p. 146.
Story Monsters Ink, March, 2023, Lindsey Giardino, “Illustrator Profile: James Yang,” p. 18.
ONLINE
AI-AP, https://www.ai-ap.com/ (February 16, 2017), Robert Newman, “Illustrator Profile—James Yang: ‘If Your Work Is Good the Work Will Find You’”; (May 16, 2024), Peggy Roalf, “James Yang on Charles & Ray Eames.”
James Yang website, https://www.jamesyang.com (September 7, 2024).
Let’s Talk Picture Books, http://www.letstalkpicturebooks.com/ (March 6, 2018), “Let’s Talk Illustrators #61: James Yang.”
James Yang was born in Oklahoma and graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Communication Arts and Design. Within a few years of entering illustration, his work appeared in prestigious trade publications such as Communication Arts, 3×3 Magazine, Graphis, Print, and The Art Directors Club of New York. James has won over 250 awards for design and illustration including best of show from 3×3 Magazine. He has taught and lectured at a variety of institutions including SVA, Parsons, FIT, SCAD and was an executive board member for ICON, a biennial illustration conference. His book, Bus! Stop! was selected as an outstanding picture book by The New York Times and the follow up Stop! Bot! is the 2020 Geisel award winner for the most distinguished American book for beginning readers. A Boy Named Isamu, called by Kirkus review “A marvel of prose, illustration and design”, is the 2022 APALA-American Library Association Honor picture book for Asian American Literature. His subway wallpaper can be seen on trains in the Metropolitan Transit system. James currently lives in Brooklyn where he happily works for a variety of clients and books.
Selected clients: Asset International, Amnesty International, Arab-American Bank, Audubon Magazine,The World Bank, Atheneum Books/Simon & Schuster, Bloomberg Magazine, BusinessWeek, Chase Manhattan Bank, Computerworld, Eight by Eight Magazine, ESPN, Forbes, Fortune, Genetech, Golf Digest, HarperCollins, Herman Miller, Hutchison Whampoa (HK), IBM, L.A. Times, Major League Baseball, Microsoft, Metropolitan Transport Authority, NATO, Nabisco, Nautilus Magazine, Newsweek, New York Times, The Robert F. Kennedy Foundation, Scientific American, Showtime Inc, Smithsonian Institution, Sony Records, Sports Illustrated, Time Magazine, Viking Books, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Wired, World Wildlife Federation (Canada)
James Yang on Charles & Ray Eames
By Peggy Roalf Thursday May 16, 2024
James Yang, illustrator/author of A Boy Named Isamu: A Story of Isamu Noguchi (Viking 2021), will launch his new book, Charles & Ray: Designers at Play (Viking 2024) next week. Today Yang, who also has a busy career as an illustrator for national media programs, shares his thoughts on Mid-Century design, and the playful art of learning how to learn.
Peggy Roalf: Where did the idea of doing a book about the designers Charles and Ray Eames come from?
James Yang: Growing up as a child in the 60’s “The Jetson’s”, a TV show about a family in the future, was my favorite cartoon. I l oved the moving sidewalks. Flying cars would magically fold into briefcases. The cities, houses, appliances, and furniture were colorful and fun. I wanted to live in a Jetson’s world!
The first time I saw a version of the famous Eames chair as a child my reaction was “OMG it’s a Jetsons chair!” and suddenly a little Korean boy in Oklahoma was a fan of Mid-Century Design. Another reason Charles and Ray came to mind is because I’m influenced by Mid Century artists like Isamu Noguchi and the Eames. My concepts and style blend well with telling a story about the Eames. The main puzzle to solve is finding a hook with the Eames that related to me emotionally. The hook turned out to be the fun and collaboration they had with the creative process.
Q: Is there any reason in particular why you chose this moment to shine a spotlight on Charles and Ray?
A; Doing any project about the Eames seems like an unattainable dream. After the positive reaction to A Boy Named Isamu, my editor asked if there were any other Mid-Century designers I wanted to write about and I sheepishly asked if I could do a book about the Eames. Viking said, “Of course you can!” It was a case of the opportunity rising and I wasn’t going to let it pass. Mid Century as subject matter is perfect because you don’t have to worry about it being out of style before your book comes out. Having said that, it was intimidating because you want the story and art to be worthy of the Eames and that’s a very high bar.
Q: Where did ideas for all of the wonderful perfect chair “failures” come from?
A: I read somewhere that the iconic Eames chair was the hardest problem for the Eames to solve. There’s pressure on kids today and I wanted kids to know it’s okay to fail and try again. The Eames enjoyed the process as much as the destination. Many chairs in the book are based on sketches by Charles. Some are my imagined possibilities. The painting on the ceiling is influenced by shapes Ray used as a painter. That was a very fun page to write and illustrate and since Isamu, I’ve learned to appreciate the importance of how text flows. I’ve always liked the musicality to Dr Suess’ text as a child and while my writing doesn’t come close that level, that’s the goal.
Q: Please tell the readers about your design process
A; I first come up with a premise for a book and one of the biggest lessons learned is: it has to be a story both I and the audience want to read. Next is a very rough storyboard to see if a story can be told visually and this is where many ideas die. If it passes that hurdle, I drop rough text into the storyboard and start working on the tone of the text. Is it first person? Is it third person? How does is rhythmically work with the images? A cleaned-up version of the storyboard is sent to Creative Director Jim Hoover and Editor/Associate Publisher Tamar Brazis at Viking and notes are sent back and forth and we decide how many pages and what format.
There’s a lot of trust and I’m more than happy to defer to Jim and Tamar even though it’s “my” book because I’m a big believer in collaboration. Tamar and I are just getting started in our relationship but I’m impressed with how quickly she got me and her notes and edits are “chef’s kiss”. Jim and I have worked on five books now and I let him go nuts with the design because he never disappoints. His ideas are a little surprising but perfect for the story.
Then I do a tight version of the revised sketches to size, final notes are given, then we make the book! The final art is executed in Photoshop on my mac mini pro M2 with an Apple Studio Display and an iPad Pro is mirrored with Astropad to the screen so I can draw. There’s a layer for almost everything because there is tons of tweaking on my part and I want to give Jim flexibility to move things around for text.
Q: How do you simplify the difficult situations that designers face in problem solving—and show young readers that trying really hard, over and over again, is a good thing
A: Fortunately, my approach to illustration has been about breaking concepts down to their essence and this turns out to be a perfect skill for children’s picture books. The story had to be about the Eames Chair and how the many attempts before they hit on the solution and a comfortable chair is very relatable. At its root, this is a metaphor for the saying “If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again”. In my version, once they solved the Eames chair it, their excitement gives birth to many other problems they wanted to solve.
Ironically, as a child I was extremely results oriented, so now—besides wanting to write about my design heroes—I also wanted kids to learn what I didn’t know about the fun of the design process so they can have more fun with their own projects.
Q: Have you furnished your own space with designs by Charles and Ray?
A; Oh yes! Herman Miller was a client back in the day so I had the chance to load up our living room and recreate the Jetson experience. We have the mini tables, plywood dining chairs and hang it all. Let’s just say it was very easy to find references for the Eames book. One of my favorite Mid-Century finds is an Eiremann work table with a beautiful plywood top that I picked up at a sale by a German illustrator friend who was moving out of the country.
Q: I loved your book on Isamu Noguchi; do you know what your next book for young readers will be about?
A: Thank you! Isamu is a book that means a lot to me, not least because it’s the book where the light bulb went off about storytelling. Jim I and I were talking and I once told him I doubted I’d ever do a book again as good as Isamu and after Eames he said it’s crazy but he thinks Isamu might have been just the beginning. I’m currently wrapping up a book about Carl Sagan that will fit nicely with both Isamu Noguchi and Charles and Ray Eames. We’re very geeked about it and it will come out Summer ’25. The Sagan book is the first of a two-book deal, (I like doing two books at a time) and I already have a couple ideas for the second.
Q: What kind of projects are you working on now? Anything you can share?
Life is good and I’m working on various assignments that come in and still working with long time collaborators like SooJin Buzelli, Michael Mrak, and Ronn Campisi while having the luxury of doing books without rushing. At least for me, having a dual existence as an illustrator and children’s book maker has been a perfect existence.
Yang, James CHARLES & RAY Viking (Children's None) $18.99 5, 21 ISBN: 9780593404829
A tribute to the playful, creative husband-and-wife team who, as icons of midcentury modern design, brought us tiny tables and bent plywood chairs.
Rather than lay out specific biographical details, Yang focuses on the overall approach and sensibility that architect Charles Eames and painter Ray Eames brought to their artistic careers. Charles liked to work with structures; Ray was sensitive to color and shape. Together, Yang writes, "they made a perfect team." They were "always looking for a problem to solve." "Is there a way to make hanging up your clothes fun?" "Why do tables have to be big?" "How can we make toys both kids and adults will love?" Many of their designs are still manufactured, but the formfitting modern chair (which will probably always be their best-known work) gets pride of place as the product of a long process of trial and error that suggests how much hard work goes into the seemingly simple design of common objects. Incorporating colors and forms associated with their work, Yang depicts the couple as hands-on sorts, fiddling with wire, balls, and blocks in bright, airy workspaces or, in one scene, lying flat on the floor to appreciate a painting suspended from the ceiling. Readers may come away with an inkling of the Eameses' artistic methods but will need to look elsewhere for more than a handful of actual examples of their creations.
Evocative, though light on factual detail. (author's note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Yang, James: CHARLES & RAY." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A788096728/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e9ccd2b1. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024.
James Yang grew up in a small town in Oklahoma in the 1960s. His was the only Korean family in town.
Childhood was generally a great time for Yang, and he fondly remembers riding bikes with friends (similar to Stranger Things but without the monsters). There were awkward moments, though, growing up Korean in a small Southern town, especially in middle school.
"But those moments helped form my sense of humor, which made me pretty popular," he says. "The experience also gave a sense of being on the outside looking in, which is perfect for an artist or writer. Would I live my childhood over again? Except for a couple painful moments, absolutely. There are more happy memories than not and it eventually led me to a place where I'm comfortable in my skin."
Art has always run in Yang's family. His grandfather was a painter in Korea, and his work can be viewed in the Busan Museum of Art in Busan, South Korea. Following in his footsteps, Yang became a freelance illustrator. "The Watergate years made me excited about the news, and one former student from my high school, Stan Watts who was an airbrush god in the 1970s, gave a talk at our school, and I was hooked," he shares.
Even more exciting, the Washington Post was one of Yang's first clients, and he got to meet Ben Bradlee, who had served as executive editor of the paper and oversaw the extensive coverage of the Watergate scandal.
"Early on, Saul Steinberg (a Romanian American artist best known for his work for The New Yorker) was a huge influence because I loved how illustration could be used to convey universal ideas," he adds. "Illustration has been a great career because you never know what is coming around the corner. I've designed a sculpture for the Smithsonian, worked for many publications, agencies, and design firms of my dreams, and wallpapered for the New York subway system. It has even led to a nice career in children's picture books."
Yang's most recent book, Go, Sled! Go! is part of a series starting with Bus! Stop!, which is a horizontally formatted book, and Stop! Bot!, which is a vertically formatted book that won the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award in 2020.
Go, Sled! Go! has a comical buildup of characters crashing into a boy's runaway sled. The language is inspired by the old Saturday Night Live Mister Bill skits. Parents have caught on to the reference, which makes Yang happy.
"Good storytelling should have the reader wonder what is on the next page, and that was the main focus while writing," he explains. "When first starting out, I storyboard rough thumbnails of a premise to see if it can be told visually. If I can't figure a story out visually, the idea is discarded. While storyboarding, the tone of the text needs to start becoming clear, and I will write notes in the thumbnails. Go, Sled! Go! flowed quickly and was a nice change of tone from A Boy Named Isamu, which is probably the book that is nearest to my heart."
In the works for next year is a follow-up picture book to A Boy Named Isamu that will also be about a mid-century artist.
One of Yang's goals for each of his stories is to write something that resonates with readers of all backgrounds.
"There are so many experiences children go through that are universal," he says. "In many ways, A Boy NamedIsamu is a personal story, as well as an imaginary story, about Isamu Noguchi. This book is special because I learned how to put myself out there emotionally. I've always been good with jokes, so Isamu was a great writing experience."
Outside of his writing and illustrating work, Yang is a self-proclaimed golf nut. "I even got to write and do a series of illustrations for Golf Digest as an on-site artist for the Masters Tournament," he shares. "It was a dream come true both artistically and golf-nerd-wise."
For more information about James Yang and his books, visit jamesyang.com.
by Lindsey Giardino
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 Story Monsters LLC
www.StoryMonsters.com
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Giardino, Lindsey. "Illustrator Profile: James Yang." Story Monsters Ink, Mar. 2023, pp. 18+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A745031953/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=47ce4494. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024.
SCHAEFER, Lola M. Spark, Shine, Glow!: What a Light Show. illus. by James Yang. 40p. Greenwillow. May 2023. Tr $19.99. ISBN 9780062457110.
K-Gr 3--Rhyming text and colorful illustrations explore different types of light as well as its various scientific properties. Familiar light sources--sun, flashlights, fireworks--are paired with more unusual ones, such as bioluminescent sea creatures and fire aurora borealis, to demonstrate the range found in the world. "Light is energy," an organizing principle of the book, is supported by examples, with varying degrees of success. Topics like natural versus artificial light are simply explained, while passages such as "Prisms and raindrops/ both refract light/ which helps form rainbows--/ an optical delight!" is a lot for children to unpack. The book's greatest strengths are in the questions it will prompt. Three girls and three hoys of varying ethnicities (and one blue-green bear) form the cast of characters. Pair with Lights Day and Night by Susan Hughes for a more in-depth investigation. Includes a glossary of terms and author's note. VERDICT The attempt to put complex topics into simple text sometimes results in confusing organization and stilted rhymes, while charming illustrations greatly enhance the appeal for children.--Sue Morgan
KEY: * Excellent in relation to other titles on the same subject or in the same genre | Tr Hardcover trade binding | lib. ed. Publisher's library binding | Board Board book | pap. Paperback | e eBook original | BL Bilingual | POP Popular Picks | SP Spanish
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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Morgan, Sue. "SCHAEFER, Lola M.: Spark, Shine, Glow!: What a Light Show." School Library Journal, vol. 69, no. 4, Apr. 2023, p. 146. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A743483981/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=184541df. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024.
Go, Sled! Go!
by James Yang; illus. by the author
Preschool, Primary Viking 40 pp.
10/22 9780593404799 $18.99
e-book ed. 9780593404805 $10.99
This picture book that doubles as a beginning reader by Geisel-winner Yang (Stop! Bot!) follows a child sledding down a mountain and colliding with animals who become accidental passengers on the sled. The uncluttered graphic compositions are nearly all double-page spreads in icy shades of blue with pops of red and green and plenty of white space. Wintry illustrations keep focus on the words and actions as the sled runs into a bunny ("Oh, bunny! No!") and then a snowman ("Oh, snowman! No!"). The classic (think Mr. Gumpy's Outing) humorous-and-improbable setup grows wilder as the book unfolds--in this case, as a moose, a penguin, and a baker (complete with a stack of cakes!) join the menagerie on the increasingly crowded sled. The spare text relies heavily on the repetition of two-letter words and uses only three to eight words per spread, making this an achievable experience for the earliest readers and a fast-paced and funny read-aloud for everyone else. In the end, a mere snowflake tips the packed sled off the edge of a cliff, through a ski jump, and headfirst into a snowbank. The child asks, "Shall we go again?" The passengers shout "NO," but young readers will shout "YES!"
* indicates a book that the editors believe to be an outstanding example of its genre, of books of this particular publishing season, or of the author's body of work. Please visit hbook.com and hornbookguide.com for expanded review coverage, including additional titles and themed booklists.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.hbook.com/magazine/default.asp
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Pettinelli, Adrienne L. "Go, Sled! Go!" The Horn Book Magazine, vol. 99, no. 1, Jan.-Feb. 2023, pp. 73+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A735604679/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=05eaf2ba. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024.
Yang, James GO, SLED! GO! Viking (Children's None) $18.99 10, 25 ISBN: 978-0-593-40479-9
An action-focused sled ride.
A cheerful character with tan skin and a striped cap totters over the crest of a bare snowy mountain on a yellow toboggan. The text gets right to the point, cheering, "Go, sled! Go!" The protagonist stares in dismay, shouting, "Oh, bunny! No!" as the sled barrels toward the startled critter. The sled doesn't slow, and the following page shows the bunny riding along, too. With slight variations, this encounter repeats when the sled comes across a snowman, a moose, penguins, and the tan-skinned, pink-haired Mrs. Baker, whose cakes wind up everywhere when she ends up onboard. As the sled races along, picking up passengers, the dialogue, in speech bubbles, includes apologies and checks on well-being, perfect for starting conversations about emotions and helping friends. The chunky black text gloriously becomes art, wrapping around in circles for the sled's inevitable roller-coaster loop. Basic action words like jump and stop will make for interactive read-aloud moments. Blocky graphic illustrations are grounded in paper-white snow and blue tones throughout. The book contains many visual and narrative similarities to Kim Norman's Ten on the Sled (2010), illustrated by Liza Woodruff, and other stories where each spread slip-slides into the next. But Yang's tale is an earnest, pleasant romp, and there is room on the shelf for this one, too. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Simply fun, ripe for repeat reads. (Picture book. 3-5)
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"Yang, James: GO, SLED! GO!" Kirkus Reviews, 15 Sept. 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A717107246/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=119146cb. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024.