Although they don't have quite the sophistication of Elephant and Piggie, these three friends should find a place on the...
A simple chapter book/graphic novel to engage the youngest new readers.
In three unrelated stories, Yoon introduces a clueless big white duck, a helpful little yellow duckling, and their purple porcupine friend. These three won't replace Frog and Toad, but they have some of the innocence of the beloved amphibians. Each story, conveyed almost entirely in dialogue bubbles and sound effects, uses fewer than 70 different words and stands alone, though there is some overlap in the word choices, allowing beginning readers to recognize words they had to sound out in earlier chapters. Yoon does not rely on the standard conventions of beginning readers—there are no rhyming words or word families that can be memorized, nor is there a word list. Instead, the visual clues help readers predict what is about to happen. Menacing clouds that only Little Duck seems to see portend the outcome of the perfect picnic; Little Duck works mightily to remind Big Duck of Porcupine's birthday. Occasionally, the visuals are confusing—as when Little Duck is shown larger than Big Duck. Some of the humor seems to be addressed to adult readers, as when Porcupine asks if No. 99 on Big Duck’s list of camping essentials is the kitchen sink.
Although they don't have quite the sophistication of Elephant and Piggie, these three friends should find a place on the shelf with Yoon's earlier reading buddy, Penguin. (Graphic early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: May 17, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-61963-723-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor
Having surveyed worms, spiders, flies, and head lice, Gravel continues her Disgusting Critters series with a quick hop through toad fact and fancy.
The facts are briefly presented in a hand-lettered–style typeface frequently interrupted by visually emphatic interjections (“TOXIN,” “PREY,” “EWWW!”). These are, as usual, paired to simply drawn cartoons with comments and punch lines in dialogue balloons. After casting glances at the common South American ancestor of frogs and toads, and at such exotic species as the Emei mustache toad (“Hey ladies!”), Gravel focuses on the common toad, Bufo bufo. Using feminine pronouns throughout, she describes diet and egg-laying, defense mechanisms, “warts,” development from tadpole to adult, and of course how toads shed and eat their skins. Noting that global warming and habitat destruction have rendered some species endangered or extinct, she closes with a plea and, harking back to those South American origins, an image of an outsized toad, arm in arm with a dark-skinned lad (in a track suit), waving goodbye: “Hasta la vista!”
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor . (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77049-667-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts.
Can knightly deeds bring together a feathered odd couple who are on opposite daily schedules?
Having won over a dragon (and millions of fans) in the Caldecott Honor–winning Knight Owl (2022), the fierce yet impossibly cute nocturnal, armor-clad owlet faces a new challenge—sleep deprivation—in the wake of taking on Early Bird, a trainee who rises with the sun and chatters interminably: “I made pancakes! Do you like pancakes? I love pancakes! Where’s the syrup?” It’s enough to test the patience of even the knightliest of owls, and eventually Knight Owl explodes in anger. But although Early Bird is even smaller than her mentor, she turns out to be just as determined to achieve knighthood. After he tells her to leave, she acquits herself so nobly in a climactic encounter with a pack of wolves that she earns a place at the castle. Denise proves a dab hand at depicting genuinely slinky, scary wolves as well as slipping cheerfully anachronistic newspapers and other sight gags into his realistically wrought medieval settings to underscore the tale’s tongue-in-cheek tone. Better yet, a final view of the doughty duo sitting down together to a lavish pancake breakfast/dinner at dusk ends the episode in a sweet rush of syrup and bonhomie.
An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9780316564526
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
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