A chewy treat for dog lovers.
A dog’s guide to what to eat.
Oblivious to the amusement—or, considerably more often, outrage—of the beige-skinned family in the background, an overstimulated pooch proudly tallies the “dog things” they know. These begin with “how cats are awfully self-important for animals who poop in a box” but go on quickly to proven or potential yummies, from socks and homework to cat food (“Who’s a dumb dog now, Mittens?”), furniture, unguarded sandwiches, a whole turkey snatched off the table, and Grandpa’s teeth. There are some no-nos, though, including lemons, lit candles, and most especially bees: “No sir! Never…ever…ever…//…again.” Boldt brings suitable ballyhoo to his depictions of wild domestic carnage, and though he dials down the perpetrator’s reaction to the bee experiment from realistic anguish to sheepish embarrassment, the scene with the dentures is hilarious, and the dog’s expression after munching on a lemon will dry up plenty of viewers’ mouths in sympathy. “I am a smart dog,” the flop-eared foodie repeatedly proclaims. Readers seeing the pooch eagerly eyeing the potted cactus in the final picture may side with Mittens. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A chewy treat for dog lovers. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 31, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-43312-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity.
Buzz and his buzzy buddy open a spinoff series of nonfiction early readers with an aquarium visit.
Buzz: “Like other fish, sharks breathe through gills.” Fly Guy: “GILLZZ.” Thus do the two pop-eyed cartoon tour guides squire readers past a plethora of cramped but carefully labeled color photos depicting dozens of kinds of sharks in watery settings, along with close-ups of skin, teeth and other anatomical features. In the bite-sized blocks of narrative text, challenging vocabulary words like “carnivores” and “luminescence” come with pronunciation guides and lucid in-context definitions. Despite all the flashes of dentifrice and references to prey and smelling blood in the water, there is no actual gore or chowing down on display. Sharks are “so cool!” proclaims Buzz at last, striding out of the gift shop. “I can’t wait for our next field trip!” (That will be Fly Guy Presents: Space, scheduled for September 2013.)
A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity. (Informational easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-50771-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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