La La La

By Kate DiCamillo
Illustrated by Jaime Kim
Publisher: Candlewick Press Copyright Year: 2017 ISBN/ISSN: 9780763658335

Review

The casual reader might thumb through this nearly wordless story and dismiss it as overly simple or otherwise inadequate. This would be a mistake. DiCamillo, a household name, shines by purposefully placing strikingly sparing text alongside stunning illustrations that tells a complex and optimistic story of overcoming loneliness with the help of the moon. A girl begins with a simple song. Seeking to be heard, seeking to be responded to, she travels outside, attempting to sing to the trees and the water and the bushes to no avail. Then once night she discovers the moon and uses a ladder to get as close as she can to deliver her sweet song. Still unheard, still without response, she descends despondent and falls asleep inside. That's when the moon sings back. Awakened by the song, she rushes to the source and discovers the moon. They meet, quite literally, quite wonderfully, face-to-face. And they sing together. Followed up with heartfelt author and illustrator notes, this seemingly simple book truly is "a story of hope."

Reviewer: Joel Shoemaker
Rating: Highly Recommended
Grade (as stated by Reviewer/SLC): PreK-2
Review Date: December 1, 2017

Product Description

"La la la . . . la." A little girl stands alone and sings, but hears no response. Gathering her courage and her curiosity, she skips farther out into the world, singing away to the trees and the pond and the reeds — but no song comes back to her. Day passes into night, and the girl dares to venture into the darkness toward the light of the moon, becoming more insistent in her singing, climbing as high as she can, but still there is silence in return. Dejected, she falls asleep on the ground, only to be awakened by an amazing sound. . . . She has been heard. At last. With the simplest of narratives and the near absence of words, Kate DiCamillo conveys a lonely child's yearning for someone who understands. With a subtle palette and captivating expressiveness, Jaime Kim brings to life an endearing character and a transcendent landscape that invite readers along on an emotionally satisfying journey.

Media Type Book, eBook
Binding HC
# Pages 72
Price 18.00
Grade (as stated by Reviewer/SLC) PreK-2
Genre Children's Books
Sub-Genre Picture Books
Content Subject 1 Friends, Peers, Family & Growing Up
Content Subject 2 Other

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Entry ID: 2132482