FEBRUARY 2023 - AudioFile
Only six minutes in length, this sweet but quick title is provided an emotional and heartfelt narration by a masterful ensemble. Full of hope and compassion, each narrator delivers a brief account in the second person of how one's identity grows and evolves to be much more than any trait, label, or quality. The writing is naturally poetic, allowing the narration to be lyrical, and each performer maintains a gentle portrayal at an impeccable pace. This beautiful audiobook reminds listeners to recognize their potential and to accept themselves and all their changing facets. This title is intended for a younger audience and pairs best with the beautifully illustrated print version. Regardless, the audiobook will tug at the heartstrings of any age listener. E.P. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2023 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
06/20/2022
In a series of poetic vignettes, the creators of this contemplative picture book introduce an array of children whose early traits or talents seem to suggest a determined life path. One, portrayed with brown skin, seems “put on this earth to dance./ We know, we know”; another, who reads as white, is “the kid perpetually in time-out./ We sigh, we sigh.” But the young dancer’s innate rhythm leads to a career as a coder who can “change the way the world moves,” while the class cut-up becomes a life-changing teacher when interacting with “a restless kid like you.” Using hatch marks and quiltlike squares of color, Luyken (Something Good) celebrates the capacity to explore and change: introductory images employ a limited palette, giving way to multihued views of additional depth and dimensionality as the children, portrayed with varying skin tones, mature and transform. In expansive lines, de la Peña (Milo Imagines the World) counters messages of narrowing one’s sights, conveying the heartening idea that lives of meaning emerge, instead, from “mismatched scraps accumulated over time/ and stitched together/ into a kind of patchwork.” Ages 4–8. Agent (for de la Peña and Luyken): Steven Malk, Writers House. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Patchwork:
A New York Times Best Children’s Book of the Year
A Kirkus Best Book of the Year
A Kids' Indie Next List Pick
A NCTE Notable Poetry Book
“In beautiful verse with artwork to match, this picture book explores the unexpected ways children might grow into themselves.” —TODAY.com
“The call to revel in the glorious patchwork that is 'us' blazes forth from this paean of acceptance.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Celebrates the potential found in every child . . . An apt and inspiring message, beautifully rendered.” —Booklist
“An exultant picture book salute to kids who are a little different . . . De la Peña is at his compassionate best.” —Shelf Awareness
“The pastel spongework patterns that Luyken overlays on these portraits of children aptly evoke de la Peña’s liberating theme: We are not indelibly drawn at birth; our identities shift and blend and bloom.” —The New York Times Book Review
“A poetic ode to possibility that’s perfect for readers who love de la Peña’s lyricism and Luyken’s effortlessly impressionistic art.” —BookPage
“Celebrates [kids'] capacity to explore and change . . . conveying the heartening idea that lives of meaning emerge . . . from 'mismatched scraps accumulated over time/ and stitched together/ into a kind of patchwork.' ” —Publishers Weekly
“A celebration of children and what they may become as successful adults.” —School Library Journal
“Gentle and affirming.” —The Horn Book
“This beautiful picture book depicts the passage of time in a sort of poem—it’s a true masterpiece.” —Brightly
“A beautifully illustrated story of a child exploring self-identity.” —The San Diego Union-Tribune
School Library Journal
08/12/2022
Gr 2–4—A celebration of children and what they may become as successful adults, written by Newbery Medal-winning de la Peña, beautifully illustrated by Luyken (The Book of Mistakes) and also available in Spanish, Retazos. De la Peña starts Patchwork on a modern note of inclusivity, with a gender reveal party with blue cake filling, which proves all wrong for a child whose paint brush hovers over pink paint and who grows into an artist who loves brown. The book is composed of two- to four-page vignettes that focus on character traits or skills developed in childhood and used in adulthood: math in dance leads to a career in coding, the bouncing of a basketball to the rhythm of poetry, kindness to classmates to a leadership position. Luyken's art reinforces the message of "mismatched scraps stitched together" into a kind of patchwork with pastel squares of color, and includes children of light to dark skin tones with an effective use of white space through gouache, ink, and pencil. While her artwork follows the words of the text, the vignettes are hard to follow. The theme of affirmation is lost as the vignettes abruptly veer from one child to another without an easily understood common denominator. VERDICT The sentiments are lovely but may not land for most children.—Sarah Sieg
FEBRUARY 2023 - AudioFile
Only six minutes in length, this sweet but quick title is provided an emotional and heartfelt narration by a masterful ensemble. Full of hope and compassion, each narrator delivers a brief account in the second person of how one's identity grows and evolves to be much more than any trait, label, or quality. The writing is naturally poetic, allowing the narration to be lyrical, and each performer maintains a gentle portrayal at an impeccable pace. This beautiful audiobook reminds listeners to recognize their potential and to accept themselves and all their changing facets. This title is intended for a younger audience and pairs best with the beautifully illustrated print version. Regardless, the audiobook will tug at the heartstrings of any age listener. E.P. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2023 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2022-06-08
Being pigeonholed or restricted limits the multifaceted expressions of humanity.
Children blossom with the encouragement to explore and define themselves. But de la Peña and Luyken demonstrate that even before we are born, we are steered to fit into molds that often chafe, from gender-reveal events (“You were blue before you were even born”) to the restrictive opinions of educators (“You are the kid perpetually in time-out”). But the freedom to experiment offers many opportunities; a love of dancing might lead to coding or a passion for sports to spinning “couplets on your finger.” Whether you discover the transformative power of kindness or harness ideas to pull people to your cause, the infinite choices that form the rich canvas of our lives are empowering. With a nudge here and a turn there, each jolt of awareness reveals the kaleidoscopic expanse of realities within us all. De la Peña’s lyrical observations and proclamations take the mind from complacent to questioning to affirming. His gentle guidance from page to page creates a poetry of understanding—we are more than what is expected of us. Luyken depicts a diverse group of children, using a palette of pastel pink, blue, lavender, and yellow and a subtle pattern evoking patchwork on each page to highlight the transformative power of self-discovery. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
The call to revel in the glorious patchwork that is “us” blazes forth from this paean of acceptance. (Picture book. 4-10)
