Hopefully readers’ own flocks are either livelier or more conducive to sleep; this toad’s will do in the meantime.
In former Saturday Night Live cast member Moynihan’s picture-book debut, a toad narrator fighting sleep introduces readers to all the exciting sheep they know.
People count sheep in order to fall asleep, ergo sheep are boring. But the toad, who sports a green striped shirt and black shorts on stick-thin limbs and has an iron bedstead in the sheep’s field, wants to prove otherwise. One by one, the toad introduces sheep like Alice, who has both a jet pack and a helmet (Alice is both “smart AND cool”), Julie, who loves dancing and coffee, and Mike H., who “likes to eat pickles while sitting in a big wet boot.” Gary, who doesn’t know what pasta is, is just plain weird, but weird isn’t boring. The parade of sheep gradually gets less and less cool, from Dan, who requires extra exclamation marks to seem hipper, to Katie, who has never actually pranced on the moon, and finally to Steve. Steve is a sheep in a tan vest and headphones using a metal detector in the field. And Steve IS boring, but “that doesn’t mean…that ALL…sheep…are…NOT…ALL…SHEEP…ARE…Zzzzzzz.” Rowan-Zoch’s digital illustrations keep the details simple to focus on the droll sheep, plain white or the bright green of the pasture serving as backgrounds. Still, readers may have different ideas as to which sheep are boring…and may fall asleep long before they reach Steve. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Hopefully readers’ own flocks are either livelier or more conducive to sleep; this toad’s will do in the meantime. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-40703-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
Yes, the Pigeon has to go to school, and so do readers, and this book will surely ease the way.
All the typical worries and excuses kids have about school are filtered through Willems’ hysterical, bus-loving Pigeon.
Told mostly in speech balloons, the bird’s monologue will have kids (and their caregivers) in stitches at Pigeon’s excuses. From already knowing everything (except whatever question readers choose to provide in response to “Go ahead—ask me a question. / Any question!”) to fearing learning too much (“My head might pop off”), Pigeon’s imagination has run wild. Readers familiar with Pigeon will recognize the muted, matte backgrounds that show off the bird’s shenanigans so well. As in previous outings, Willems varies the size of the pigeon on the page to help communicate emotion, the bird teeny small on the double-page spread that illustrates the confession that “I’m… / scared.” And Pigeon’s eight-box rant about all the perils of school (“The unknown stresses me out, dude”) is marvelously followed by the realization (complete with lightbulb thought bubble) that school is the place for students to practice, with experts, all those skills they don’t yet have. But it is the ending that is so Willems, so Pigeon, and so perfect. Pigeon’s last question is “Well, HOW am I supposed to get there, anyway!?!” Readers will readily guess both the answer and Pigeon’s reaction.
Yes, the Pigeon has to go to school, and so do readers, and this book will surely ease the way. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-368-04645-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Sweet and silly—good enough for Halloween
The barnyard animals love Halloween. Farmer Brown does not. Sounds like the perfect time for tricks and treats!
Since Farmer Brown wants nothing to do with the scary holiday, “he leaves a bowl of candy on the porch….draws the shades and locks the door.” Out in the barn, though, the party is just getting started. Saturated watercolors show Cow dressed as a skeleton, the chickens looking quite ghostly and the sheep donning witch hats. As field mice and cats arrive, creepy sounds begin. The “crunch, crunch, crunching” and the “creak, creak, creaking” lead to a “tap, tap, tapping.” Hearing them, Farmer Brown peeks out his window to investigate. Readers will chuckle and easily recognize “the dark creature standing beneath the trees.” The farmer, however, runs to his bedroom to pull the covers up over his head. Now the sounds repeat, as the figure comes closer. This time, though, the tapping is followed by a “quack, quack, quackle.” Wait—“Quackle??” Farmer Brown goes out to the porch to find the candy bowl gone and a note on the door announcing, “Halloween Party at the barn!” The chorus of onomatopoeic phrases throughout the briskly paced text guarantees an interactive read-aloud, though fans of Duck’s earlier outings will miss their satiric bite.
Sweet and silly—good enough for Halloween . (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4424-6553-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
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