Hendrix’s richly detailed, brightly colored spreads make the book visually engaging, but on the whole it feels out of sync...
McToad likes Thursdays, the day he mows Tiny Island.
Every Thursday, he rides the mower out of the shed onto his big truck and puts the mower onto a train with a forklift. The train takes the mower to the airport, where it is carried by conveyor belt to an airplane. The mower is flown to the other side of the island, where a baggage buggy takes it to a helicopter that transports it to a dock. There, it is lowered by crane onto a boat, then sailed to the island. The island is truly tiny; in fact the mower takes up most of the small lawn that sits atop the island. The task at hand is swiftly completed (after a sip of lemonade for McToad and an oil refill for the tractor), and an arrowed diagram shows the mower returning home by the same route in reverse. The book jacket proclaims this “a transportation tale,” and it certainly covers a dizzying array of modes, but at a time when the scientific community—and even the pope—is issuing ever sterner warnings about climate change, it’s hard not to see McToad’s weekly odyssey as anything but an unnecessary journey and a profligate consumption of resources. The black smoke issuing from McToad’s tractor chimney throughout as well as the patent ludicrousness of the entire endeavor only serves to emphasize this.
Hendrix’s richly detailed, brightly colored spreads make the book visually engaging, but on the whole it feels out of sync with evolving sensibilities and awareness. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4197-1650-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
Children who love dogs will find this amusing the first time through, but the humor palls quickly.
In rhyming text, a bug-eyed pug named Pig stubbornly refuses to share with the almost equally bug-eyed Trevor, the “wiener dog” he lives with—and soon gets his comeuppance.
The book begins showing the eponymous dog astride a large, red bowl of dog food, tongue hanging out and all four paws gripping the bowl. It perfectly matches the text: “Pig was a Pug / and I’m sorry to say, / he was greedy and selfish / in most every way.” A bit of humor comes through when the text plays on the adage about pigs by reminding readers that “pugs cannot fly.” However, most of the text is composed of trite, tired rhymes. The ending is a punch line whose funny picture will have little ones giggling. However, the ultimate “lesson” is a rather dark cynicism, more appropriate to children older than the age suggested by the rhymes, the art, and even the publisher. There may be some vicarious thrills for those who have witnessed excessive selfishness. The artwork is humorous, although Pig’s appearance is sometimes more grotesque than funny—particularly when he shouts at Trevor. Both male dogs’ facial expressions and body language add to the humor, and dog lovers will appreciate Pig’s array of colorful toys. Scansion is spotty, which should not happen in verses so dependent on rhythm and rhyme to entertain their young audience.
Children who love dogs will find this amusing the first time through, but the humor palls quickly. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Dec. 27, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-338-11245-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A funny tale about stress and an ever upping ante, with a comforting end.
Something is preventing Owl from falling asleep.
Owl leans back against his white pillow and headboard. “Squeek!” says something underneath the bed. Owl’s never heard that sound before, so he fastens his pink bathrobe and answers the front door. Nobody. It must be the wind; back to bed. Bidding himself goodnight, he climbs into bed—and hears the noise again. Time after time, he pops out of bed seeking the squeaker. Is it in the cupboard? He empties the shelves. Under the floor? He pulls up his floorboards. As Owl’s actions ratchet up—he destroys the roof and smashes the walls, all in search of the squeak—so does his anxiety. Not until he hunkers down in bed under the night sky (his bed is now outdoors, because the house’s roof and walls are gone), frantically clutching his pillow, does he see what readers have seen all along: a small, gray mouse. In simple illustrations with black outlines, textured coloring, and foreshortened perspective, Pizzoli plays mischievously with mouse placement. Sometimes the mouse is behind Owl or just out of his sightline; other times, the mouse is on a solid, orange-colored page across the spread from Owl, which removes him from Owl’s scene in a rather postmodern manner. Is the mouse toying with Owl? Who knows?
A funny tale about stress and an ever upping ante, with a comforting end. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4847-1275-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
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