It’s a ride is rich enough in slapstick, comical mishaps, jokes and general silliness to make anyone want to invite...
In an improbably compelling quest, a goat and a rolling robot go on the hunt for a single sock’s mate.
Bah the goat finds it and trots (almost) silently behind as extroverted Beep the robot does the talking: “Hello, Pig. Does this sock belong to you?” Alas, not greedy pig nor frantic chicken, not angry ox, grumpy bear or bird, snake, monkey, frog, crab, giant squid—or, for that matter, clam, fish or rock own up. Framing angular, jellybean-colored cartoons in graphic panels and channeling classic Hanna Barbera–style humor and storytelling, Burks (Gabby and Gator, 2010) sends his odd couple “where no goat has gone before.” They trek up and down rollercoaster hills, through quicksand and ocean deeps in a search that outdoes even Eric Carle’s classic Do You Want To Be My Friend? (1971) for serial relentlessness. Reaching a sign reading “Go Back. End of the Road” Beep admits at last, “I guess we’ll never find the other sock.” But: “It was a Great Adventure!”—and, as the final picture’s visual punch line reveals, that second sock was along for the entire ride.
It’s a ride is rich enough in slapstick, comical mishaps, jokes and general silliness to make anyone want to invite themselves along. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7613-6567-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2012
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
Totes adorbs.
A cuddly, squishy pug’s puggy-wuggy diary.
Equipped with both #pugunicorn and #pughotdog outfits, pug Baron von Bubbles (aka Bub) is the kind of dog that always dresses to impress. Bub also makes lots of memorable faces, such as the “Hey, you’re not the boss of me!” expression aimed at Duchess, the snooty pink house cat. Some of Bub’s favorite things include skateboarding, a favorite teddy, and eating peanut butter. Bub also loves Bella, who adopted Bub from a fair—it was “love at first sniff.” Together, Bub and Bella do a lot of arts and crafts. Their latest project: entering Bella’s school’s inventor challenge by making a super-duper awesome rocket. But, when the pesky neighborhood squirrel, Nutz, makes off with Bub’s bear, Bub accidentally ruins their project. How will they win the contest? More importantly, how will Bella ever forgive him? May’s cutesy, full-color cartoon art sets the tone for this pug-tastic romp for the new-to–chapter-books crowd. Emojilike faces accentuate Bub’s already expressive character design. Bub’s infectious first-person narration pushes the silly factor off the charts. In addition to creating the look and feel of a diary, the lined paper helps readers follow the eight-chapter story. Most pages have fewer than five sentences, often broken into smaller sections. Additional text appears in color-coded speech bubbles. Bella presents white.
Totes adorbs. (Fiction. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-53003-2
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
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