Mystery-loving readers will quickly detect the advent of a promising series.
In this latest from actor and author Winkler and author Oliver, a little duck makes a big impact.
A lucky adoption has given Willow the duck a beaver dad, who encourages her to pursue her dream of being a detective. When a large saucer-shaped object crash-lands in their pond, Willow’s pal Sal, a comic-book-loving salamander; Harry, a depressed catfish; and Flitter, a dragonfly with a can-do attitude, jump to the conclusion that it’s an invading spaceship. Further investigation reveals a fiery red dragon and more spacecraft, throwing everyone into a panic. Only Willow asks the right questions, leading to the realization that the object is a stray tire from a truck. The plot now turns on an environmental issue: how to get rid of the floating tire, which is now interfering with pond life. So the friends form the Pond Squad and, with help from Willow’s dad and Aaron the heron, take on the tire. A subplot sees Willow attempting to shoo off Snout, a thieving, conniving weasel, by pelting him with a rubber band and a ball; dealing with Snout looks like a job for the second book. Every chapter ends with a cliffhanger, the pacing and characterization are engaging, and the message about treating the environment with respect is a sound one. Santat provides intense, googly-eyed animals at eye level, and Willow pops in bright yellow.
Mystery-loving readers will quickly detect the advent of a promising series. (Chapter book. 6-9)Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2023
ISBN: 9781419755132
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book.
Ada Twist’s incessant stream of questions leads to answers that help solve a neighborhood crisis.
Ada conducts experiments at home to answer questions such as, why does Mom’s coffee smell stronger than Dad’s coffee? Each answer leads to another question, another hypothesis, and another experiment, which is how she goes from collecting data on backyard birds for a citizen-science project to helping Rosie Revere figure out how to get her uncle Ned down from the sky, where his helium-filled “perilous pants” are keeping him afloat. The Questioneers—Rosie the engineer, Iggy Peck the architect, and Ada the scientist—work together, asking questions like scientists. Armed with knowledge (of molecules and air pressure, force and temperature) but more importantly, with curiosity, Ada works out a solution. Ada is a recognizable, three-dimensional girl in this delightfully silly chapter book: tirelessly curious and determined yet easily excited and still learning to express herself. If science concepts aren’t completely clear in this romp, relationships and emotions certainly are. In playful full- and half-page illustrations that break up the text, Ada is black with Afro-textured hair; Rosie and Iggy are white. A closing section on citizen science may inspire readers to get involved in science too; on the other hand, the “Ode to a Gas!” may just puzzle them. Other backmatter topics include the importance of bird study and the threat palm-oil use poses to rainforests.
Adventure, humor, and smart, likable characters make for a winning chapter book. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3422-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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