A reminder that everyone the world over needs a funny word or two when memory fails, even elephants.
Thing-a-ma-jig? Who-zee-whats-it? Shis-moo? Hoo-pull-dee-pewp?
Words such as these are found throughout this amusing story of a little elephant trying to track down an object lost by a bigger elephant (perhaps its parent). The grown-up pachyderm gives the child a bottle of water and then starts looking for the bottle cap—except it can’t remember the name of the item: “I can’t find the…thing-a-ma-jig.” The little one runs off to look and asks other animals for help. They haven’t seen a thing-a-ma-jig, though they have lost objects of their own: A bird has misplaced its “hoo-zeewots-it,” and a snail is seeking its “hoo-pull-dee-pewp.” Other creatures join in. Eventually it becomes apparent that they’re all looking for the same thing—the bottle cap! Backmatter explains that the words used throughout are variations on whatchamacallits (terms we use when we can’t remember what we’re trying to say), all in different languages, from Zulu (intazinga) to Japanese (naninani) to Irish English (yokemebob). Pronunciations are included. Between the humorous words and the gloriously bold and childlike illustrations created from collaged photographs and hand-cut rubber stamps, this will be a wonderful, infectiously popular read-aloud for young children in group settings or one-on-one.
A reminder that everyone the world over needs a funny word or two when memory fails, even elephants. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9781534493476
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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