by Mark Teague ; illustrated by Mark Teague ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2013
A fine addition to the fractured-fairy-tale shelf, though it does lack that certain something that made Eugene Trivizas’ The...
The classic fairy tale gets an update with a subtle message about healthy eating and a happy ending for a hungry wolf.
When the owner of the farm decides to sell and move to Florida, he gives his three (anthropomorphized) pigs their pay and sends them on their way. The junk-food–loving brothers listen to their sister and reluctantly agree to buy building materials with their money…but straw and sticks are so cheap they have enough left for potato chips and “sody-pop.” Meanwhile, the sister works on her brick house and healthy garden. When a hungry wolf comes to town and is rebuffed at all its eating establishments, he takes his anger out on the brothers, who smell deliciously like pig and whose houses don’t stand a chance. But all his huffing and puffing at the sister’s house, combined with his hunger, makes him pass out. In an ending that may remind readers of Gail Carson Levine’s Betsy Who Cried Wolf, illustrated by Scott Nash (2002), the pigs revive, feed and befriend him. Teague’s oil paintings are marvelously detailed and brightly colored. His pigs are full of personality, and their human traits and accessories are sure to delight.
A fine addition to the fractured-fairy-tale shelf, though it does lack that certain something that made Eugene Trivizas’ The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury (1993), such a standout. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-439-91501-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2013
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by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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by Karma Wilson ; illustrated by Jane Chapman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 16, 2024
Cheery fun that will leave series fans “egg”-static.
In his latest outing, Bear and his pals go in search of eggs.
Bear “lumbers with his friends through the Strawberry Vale.” Raven finds a nest; climbing up, “The bear finds eggs!”: a refrain that appears throughout. Instead of eating the robin’s eggs, however, Bear leaves a gift of dried berries in the nest for the “soon-to-be-chicks.” Next, the friends find 10 mallard eggs (as bright blue as the robin’s), and Bear leaves sunflower seeds. Then the wail of Mama Meadowlark, whose bright yellow undercarriage strikes a warm golden note, leads them to promise to find her lost eggs. With his friends’ assistance, Bear finds one, and they decide to paint them “so they aren’t lost again.” Another is discovered, painted, and placed in Hare’s basket. After hours of persistent searching, Bear suddenly spots the remaining two eggs “in a small patch of clover.” Before they can return these eggs, the chicks hatch and rejoin their mother. Back at his lair, Bear, with his troupe, is visited by all 17 chicks and the robin, mallard, and meadowlark moms: “And the bear finds friends!” Though this sweet spring tale centers on finding and painting eggs, it makes no overt references to Easter. The soft green and blue acrylics, predictable rhymes, and rolling rhythm make this series installment another low-key natural read-aloud.
Cheery fun that will leave series fans “egg”-static. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781665936552
Page Count: 40
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
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