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WHO TAUGHT THAT MOUSE TO WRITE

Name: WHO TAUGHT THAT MOUSE TO WRITE
Author: Bill Littlefield

by Bill Littlefield ; illustrated by Stephen Coren ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

A silly and amusing poetry collection that might have benefited from brighter art.

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Littlefield presents a lighthearted set of rhyming poems for young readers about animals, birds, and insects.

Each work in this creative, humorous children’s book focuses on a particular creature. In the poem that inspired the book’s title, a mouse outsmarts a human who sets a trap; the rodent leaves a note thanking the human for lunch, leaving them befuddled about who taught the mouse to write. Readers learn the moral of the story of “Tortoise and Hare” in a poem that concludes, “a racing tortoise doesn’t need the higher gears / To beat a foe too slow to know the only way to win / Is to remember why you’re there as soon as you begin.” In “Robin,” the author analyzes the weighty role of a robin announcing spring—and wonders what would happen if the bird was late. The poet recommends a garbage-eating goat for messy homeowners in one poem and shaking out one’s shoes to check for scorpions in another. Other tales feature an octopus that struggles to control its eight arms, a hurried caterpillar confidently crossing the road, and a vulture defending its reputation by highlighting that it eats what others won’t—and cleans the desert, too. Coren’s black-and-white animal illustrations will increase engagement, but the art might have had more impact in full color. Over the course of the collection, Littlefield combines a whimsical tone with clever, creative anecdotes to spark curiosity in young readers. He also shares wry animal observations: “Cows DON’T ever look like they’re thinking a lot. / They seem quite contented with all that they’ve got” (“Cows”). Similarly, in “Leopard,” the speaker reassures readers that the titular creatures are just as they’re meant to be: “I hope all of us inclined to rearrange / Ourselves because we’re not content with what we are today / Can recognize that as we are we’re better than okay.”

A silly and amusing poetry collection that might have benefited from brighter art.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 27, 2025

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
KEEPERS
by Bill Littlefield

- BOOK REVIEW
CHAMPIONS
by Bill Littlefield & illustrated by Bernie Fuchs

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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SPOOKY POOKIE

by Sandra Boynton ; illustrated by Sandra Boynton ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 7, 2015

A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.

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One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.

It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.

A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)