Children and caregivers alike will enjoy this charming tale about a dog who must find out if he’s a baked potato, a...
A cozy story about a curious pup with a slight identity crisis who runs into a host of characters on his way to reunion with his owner.
A stylish, mature lady has few loves: potatoes, dogs, and walks in the rain. When the lady adopts an adorable little brown dog, she notices that he is “smooth” and “warm” and that she could just “[eat] him right up,” so she combines two of her loves and starts calling him Baked Potato. The pair eat dinner by the fireplace and cuddle up next to each other in bed—they seem to have the perfect arrangement. But one eventful day, the lady steps out, and the dog’s adventure begins. Venturing out in search of the lady, he meets a big, rude dog, a fox, and an owl, all of which assure him he is not a baked potato (though the fox does think he’d be “good with carrots and onions”) and suggest alternatives. The digital illustrations bring a sense of vitality while maintaining adorableness, creating the scenes with firm lines and bright colors. The use of vibrant reds, greens, and blues is striking against the white page and helps amp both excitement and coziness. The lady has brown skin and puffy, dark brown curls.
Children and caregivers alike will enjoy this charming tale about a dog who must find out if he’s a baked potato, a groundhog, or a bunny. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4521-5592-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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
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