Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* Llewellyn, an anthropomorphized white rabbit, adores collecting things to remind him of "all the wonderful things he had seen and done." Fall leaves, heart-shaped stones, seashells—they all go into glass jars that line the shelves of his living room. When a spectacular sunset "the color of tart cherry syrup" draws Llewellyn down to the seashore, he scoops some of the light into jars, giving one to another bunny also observing the sunset. This is how he and Evelyn become best friends. Marcero works magic with prismatic watercolors, ink, and pencil, as her light-filled illustrations chronicle the young rabbits' exploits and their appreciative wonder of the world around them. In her artwork, Marcero collects their meaningful moments in jars, setting them against a scenic backdrop, perhaps a field of snow or flowers. But then Evelyn and her family move away. Lonely for his friend, Llewellyn awakens one night to a meteor shower and decides to collect it for Evelyn. He sends a star-filled jar to her in the mail, to which she replies with a package of city lights and sounds. This joyful account of friendship will charm readers with the notion of capturing wind or a rainbow in a jar, but its deeper message of maintaining relationships over a distance will comfort those who have moved or know someone who has. Preschool-Grade 2. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews.
Booklist Reviews
Readers first met Llewellyn the rabbit in In a Jar (2020), where he was established as a great collector. He now applies this talent to his emotions, keeping big feelings in check by literally bottling them when they become intrusive. Fear is the first to go, which is quickly followed by sadness, excitement, anger, joy, and disappointment. Soon his storage closet is lined with jars filled with an assortment of feelings, each represented by a specific color that peers out from behind the glass. Finally, Llewellyn tries stuffing one emotion too many into the closet and they all burst forth, flattening the poor bunny as they fly free. The resilient rabbit shakes off the emotion explosion and eventually learns to get comfortable with his feelings. Marcero elevates the familiar practice of color-coding emotions through her eye-catching illustrations and creative layouts. Expressive, color-drenched scenes play light and darkness off Llewellyn's varying moods that are displayed through a dynamic assortment of spot art, panels, and full-page spreads. Though it doesn't break new ground, SEL collections will welcome this title. Preschool-Grade 2. Copyright 2022 Booklist Reviews.
BookPage Reviews
In a Jar
There is a moment of magic in every good book when the book's heart and the reader meet exquisitely. In the best books—the very best ones—that moment lasts from front cover to back. Deborah Marcero's In a Jar is that kind of book.
Little bunny Llewellyn carries jars everywhere he goes; in them, he collects objects that remind him of special moments. When Llewellyn makes a new friend, he finds that his jars hold not just moments but also friendship itself. After all, the best collections—whether seashells, stamps or books—are made with someone you love.
Marcero's prose has an openness and simplicity that masks its literary prowess. She employs similes, vibrant descriptions, rhymes and alliteration with ease, turning anyone who reads this aloud into a master storyteller.
This is writing that needs no artwork, but Marcero is an equally gifted illustrator, filling every page with color and movement. Washes of paint and hashed pencil lines give texture and atmosphere to even the smallest sketch. From a field bursting with bluebell flowers to a particularly charming image of the bunny slipper-clad Llewellyn, every inch of every spread is worth examining. In a surreal touch, the jars themselves become frames containing rainbows, cups of hot chocolate, lightning strikes, a family of ducks, ski slopes and the tight squeeze of a subway car. Enchanting, indeed.
In a Jar does what all the best picture books do: It captivates, entertains and leaves you with a reminder of magic still shimmering around the edges.
Copyright 2020 BookPage Reviews.Horn Book Guide Reviews
This follow-up to In a Jar uses straightforward language and visual metaphor to make complicated concepts accessible to young children. Llewellyn the bunny finds his feelings troublesome, so he starts stuffing them in jars and hiding them in a basement closet. Marcero (The Boy Whose Head Was Filled with Stars, rev. 1/21) explores a broad vocabulary of emotions: not just fear and sadness, but excitement, disappointment, and embarrassment. At one point Llewellyn even bottles away joy because that can be a bit much to handle sometimes. In the mixed-media illustrations, each emotion is rendered as a distinct shape, with its own color and expressive eyes that watch Llewellyn, helping to define every feeling while also suggesting that emotions may be both felt and observed. Marcero puts her protagonist in fraught situations that will be familiar to children (being left out of a group, other children laughing at them), and she incorporates comics elements throughout -- including panels, word bubbles, bright colors, and cartoonish figures -- to make her material less threatening and more comprehensible. As Llewellyn stuffs away more emotions, his world drains of color, only exploding back into a full range of vivid hues when he is ready to look each feeling in the eye, give it a hug, and let it go. The author is teaching a valuable lesson here, and her empathetic, engaging approach respects young children and meets them where they are. Copyright 2023 Horn Book Guide Reviews.
Horn Book Magazine Reviews
This follow-up to In a Jar uses straightforward language and visual metaphor to make complicated concepts accessible to young children. Llewellyn the bunny finds his feelings troublesome, so he starts stuffing them in jars and hiding them in a basement closet. Marcero (The Boy Whose Head Was Filled with Stars, rev. 1/21) explores a broad vocabulary of emotions: not just fear and sadness, but excitement, disappointment, and embarrassment. At one point Llewellyn even bottles away joy because that can be a bit much to handle sometimes. In the mixed-media illustrations, each emotion is rendered as a distinct shape, with its own color and expressive eyes that watch Llewellyn, helping to define every feeling while also suggesting that emotions may be both felt and observed. Marcero puts her protagonist in fraught situations that will be familiar to children (being left out of a group, other children laughing at them), and she incorporates comics elements throughout -- including panels, word bubbles, bright colors, and cartoonish figures -- to make her material less threatening and more comprehensible. As Llewellyn stuffs away more emotions, his world drains of color, only exploding back into a full range of vivid hues when he is ready "to look each feeling in the eye, give it a hug, and let it go." The author is teaching a valuable lesson here, and her empathetic, engaging approach respects young children and meets them where they are. Adrienne L. Pettinelli March/April 2022 p. Copyright 2022 Horn Book Magazine Reviews.
Kirkus Reviews
Two rabbits collect shared memories in jars—visualizations of intangible moments that build their friendship and help sustain it when one moves away. Llewellyn is a collector of rocks and feathers and other mundane items until he meets Evelyn. Together they experience a sensational sunset, which he scoops into a jar for her. The memory of that event softly glows like a night light in its jar, bringing warmth and comfort to her as she sleeps. The bunnies' jars soon become filled with experiential wonders: snowball fights and hot cocoa, exploring tulip-filled fields and playing until their shadows grow long at dusk. After Evelyn moves, it takes a glittering meteor shower for Llewelyn to realize the jars might allow them to continue to share their lives with each other. The illustrations feature simple, cartoonlike characters. But while the drawing style may be simplified, sophisticated patterning and color design, as well as intricate pen work, create a lush and detailed world. The artist moves between small inserted panels and large spreads to great effect, creating whimsical and uplifting art that perfectly matches the tex t. In the art, Marcero builds a visual vocabulary for the meaning and importance of memories. As Evelyn opens a jar and stars from Llewelyn's night sky swirl and fall around her, readers will feel the warmth of friendship and the wonder of the world as well. Stunning. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus 2019 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.
Publishers Weekly Reviews
Llewellyn, a stumpy white rabbit with stand-up ears, meets Evelyn as he gathers sunset light that's "the color of tart cherry syrup." He collects all kinds of precious things and keeps them in jars ("buttercups,/ feathers,/ and heart-shaped stones"), and now he has a friend to help. He and Evelyn (she's a rabbit, too) spend several happy seasons assembling treasures until Evelyn tells Llewellyn that her family is moving. "Llewellyn's heart felt like an empty jar." Then he works out a way to share new wonders with Evelyn even though she's far away. Thin, spidery lines trace the outlines of the eccentric collection of jars and their contents: "rainbows,/ the sound of the ocean,/ and the wind just before the snow falls." Color and scale add drama as the two small rabbits wander amid a sea of pink and red tulips and gaze at their own elongated shadows. Miniature panels of experiences and objects offer the charm of snow globes. Marcero (
School Library Journal Reviews
School Library Journal Reviews