by Audrey Wood & illustrated by Audrey Wood ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2007
What does dog need? Wood creates an appealing, crayon-colored, cartoon dog on grocery-bag paper, who promises to sweep, answer the phone and treat his owner like a “queen on a throne,” which rhymes with what he entreats for with all his being, expression sincere and appealing. High comic energy suffuses the roly-poly dog, whose sweeping, phone answering and other services make a royal mess. His unwavering focus enumerates all the minor wrongs he will never perform again, if only: never to chase the cat, dig up flowers and unroll all the toilet paper. All the while, he’s demonstrating what he will not do again. The rhyming rolls off the tongue, begging to be recited, yet for the “poor dog” there are no real bones in the house, just teasing reminders, as just about everything in the house is decorated with them, including mistress’s earrings, hair clip, dress and shoes, to name a few. Children will enjoy looking and finding bone shapes everywhere and will hope that his mistress will give him more than the offered carrot, broccoli, squash and peas—from endpapers to endpapers, a most satisfying well-earned bone. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-545-00005-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Blue Sky/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2007
Share your opinion of this book
More by Audrey Wood
BOOK REVIEW
by Audrey Wood ; illustrated by Don Wood
BOOK REVIEW
by Audrey Wood ; illustrated by Don Wood
BOOK REVIEW
by Audrey Wood & illustrated by Don Wood
by Greg Pizzoli ; illustrated by Greg Pizzoli ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 19, 2016
A funny tale about stress and an ever upping ante, with a comforting end.
Something is preventing Owl from falling asleep.
Owl leans back against his white pillow and headboard. “Squeek!” says something underneath the bed. Owl’s never heard that sound before, so he fastens his pink bathrobe and answers the front door. Nobody. It must be the wind; back to bed. Bidding himself goodnight, he climbs into bed—and hears the noise again. Time after time, he pops out of bed seeking the squeaker. Is it in the cupboard? He empties the shelves. Under the floor? He pulls up his floorboards. As Owl’s actions ratchet up—he destroys the roof and smashes the walls, all in search of the squeak—so does his anxiety. Not until he hunkers down in bed under the night sky (his bed is now outdoors, because the house’s roof and walls are gone), frantically clutching his pillow, does he see what readers have seen all along: a small, gray mouse. In simple illustrations with black outlines, textured coloring, and foreshortened perspective, Pizzoli plays mischievously with mouse placement. Sometimes the mouse is behind Owl or just out of his sightline; other times, the mouse is on a solid, orange-colored page across the spread from Owl, which removes him from Owl’s scene in a rather postmodern manner. Is the mouse toying with Owl? Who knows?
A funny tale about stress and an ever upping ante, with a comforting end. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4847-1275-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
Share your opinion of this book
More by Greg Pizzoli
BOOK REVIEW
by Greg Pizzoli ; illustrated by Greg Pizzoli
BOOK REVIEW
by Pauline Thompson ; illustrated by Greg Pizzoli
BOOK REVIEW
by Greg Pizzoli ; illustrated by Greg Pizzoli
by Julie Rowan-Zoch ; illustrated by Julie Rowan-Zoch ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021
Animated and educational.
A hare and a ground squirrel banter about the differences between related animals that are often confused for one another.
Jack is “no Flopsy, Mopsy, or Cottontail,” but a “H-A-R-E, hare!” Like sheep and goats, or turtles and tortoises, rabbits and hares may look similar, but hares are bigger, their fur changes color in the winter, and they are born with their eyes wide open. As the ground squirrel (not to be mistaken for a chipmunk (even though Jack cheekily calls it “Chippie”) and Jack engage in playful discussion about animals, a sneaky coyote prowls after them through the Sonoran Desert. This picture book conveys the full narrative in spirited, speech-bubbled dialogue set on expressive illustrations of talking animals. Dark outlines around the characters make their shapes pop against the softly blended colors of the desert backgrounds. Snappy back-and-forth paired with repetition and occasional rhyme enhances the story’s appeal as a read-aloud. As the story progresses, the colors of the sky shift from dawn to dusk, providing subtle, visual bookends for the narrative. One page of backmatter offers a quick guide to eight easily confused pairs, and a second turns a subsequent exploration of the book into a seek-and-find of 15 creatures (and one dessert) hidden in the desert. Unfortunately, while most of the creatures from the seek-and-find appear in poses that match the illustrations in the challenge, not all of them are consistently represented. (This book was reviewed digitally with 7-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 53.3% of actual size.)
Animated and educational. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-358-12506-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
Share your opinion of this book
More by Richard T. Morris
BOOK REVIEW
by Richard T. Morris ; illustrated by Julie Rowan-Zoch
BOOK REVIEW
by Bobby Moynihan ; illustrated by Julie Rowan-Zoch
BOOK REVIEW
by Tom Lichtenheld ; illustrated by Julie Rowan-Zoch
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.