Arresting artwork combined with a playful challenge of seek-and-find offers readers a fresh alternative to more traditional Mother Goose collections. This one, featuring over 40 rhymes, is an intriguing blend of familiar and arcane verses. The tried-and-true favorites are all here: “Pat-a-Cake,” “Three Blind Mice,” “Jack Be Nimble,” and others. However, the selection of less well-known rhymes will be a delightful discovery for readers, young and old. Rhymes such as “Peddler’s Song,” “Diddly, Diddly, Dumpty,” “Cuckoo, Cuckoo, Cherry Tree,” not often included in collections, are reintroduced to a new generation of children. The front pages contain the beginning of the classic rhyme “Cackle, cackle, Mother Goose, / Have you any feathers loose?,” giving readers the task of seeking out all the loose feathers incorporated into the illustrations. Close scrutiny of each page rewards with the discovery of a lone feather in the landscape. Beaton’s (Zoe and Her Zebra, 1999, etc.) splendid collages revel in the whimsy of Mother Goose . The artwork is executed with Beaton’s signature flair; color-filled collages feature intricately sewn pieces of felt and other materials, assembled to create vivid images so three-dimensional that readers will be tempted to run their fingers over the pages to feel the textures. With cheerful characters capering across the pages and encouraging readers to abandon themselves to the wit and wisdom of Mother Goose, this ebullient collection of rhymes deserves a special spot on the shelf. A foreword includes a rather esoteric introduction from the publisher regaling interested adults with an abbreviated history of Mother Goose, from her roots in an ancient Hindu goddess to her first published appearance in 1697. (contents list, index) (Picture book. 2-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2000
ISBN: 1-84148-073-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A lushly illustrated homage to librarians who provide a welcome and a home away from home for all who enter.
A love letter to libraries.
A Black child, with hair in two puffballs tied with yellow ribbons, a blue dress with a Peter Pan collar, and black patent leather Mary Janes, helps Grandmother with the housework, then, at Grandmother’s suggestion, heads to the library. The child’s eagerness to go, with two books under an arm and one in their hand, suggests that this is a favorite destination. The books’ wordless covers emphasize their endless possibilities. The protagonist’s description of the library makes clear that they are always free to be themselves there—whether they feel happy or sad, whether they’re reading mysteries or recipes, and whether they feel “quick and smart” or “contained and cautious.” Robinson’s vibrant, carefully composed digital illustrations, with bright colors that invite readers in and textures and patterns in every image, effectively capture the protagonist’s passion for reading and appreciation for a space where they feel accepted regardless of disposition. In her author’s note, Giovanni states that she spent summers visiting her grandmother in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she went to the Carnegie Branch of the Lawson McGhee Library. She expresses gratitude for Mrs. Long, the librarian, who often traveled to the main library to get books that Giovanni could not find in their segregated branch. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A lushly illustrated homage to librarians who provide a welcome and a home away from home for all who enter. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-358-38765-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Versify/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems.
Rhyming poems introduce children to anthropomorphized trucks of all sorts, as well as the jobs that they do.
Adorable multiethnic children are the drivers of these 16 trucks—from construction equipment to city trucks, rescue vehicles and a semi—easily standing in for readers, a point made very clear on the final spread. Varying rhyme schemes and poem lengths help keep readers’ attention. For the most part, the rhymes and rhythms work, as in this, from “Cement Mixer”: “No time to wait; / he can’t sit still. / He has to beg your pardon. / For if he dawdles on the way, / his slushy load will harden.” Slonim’s trucks each sport an expressive pair of eyes, but the anthropomorphism stops there, at least in the pictures—Vestergaard sometimes takes it too far, as in “Bulldozer”: “He’s not a bully, either, / although he’s big and tough. / He waits his turn, plays well with friends, / and pushes just enough.” A few trucks’ jobs get short shrift, to mixed effect: “Skid-Steer Loader” focuses on how this truck moves without the typical steering wheel, but “Semi” runs with a royalty analogy and fails to truly impart any knowledge. The acrylic-and-charcoal artwork, set against white backgrounds, keeps the focus on the trucks and the jobs they are doing.
While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems. (Picture book/poetry. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5078-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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