Fun for one or two reads, but, unlike Cub, it probably won't have much staying power.
Free-spirited artwork with colors of psychedelic intensity smooths the rather fitful nature of this race through the jungle.
The animals are getting ready for the jungle run. There’s a hippopotamus, a rhinoceros, an elephant and other major players in the bestiary, so when “Cub turns up to take her place, / …the others say, ‘You’re too small to race.’ ” But the rhyming text is too light-hearted to throw much of a wet blanket on the proceedings, and the cub proves to be an adept at the various obstacles on the course, quickly pulling into the lead as the python and gazelle get tangled in the vine net. At the rope swing, Cub makes like a pendulum while Elephant misses altogether and falls in the creek. The others use his sizeable noggin as a stepping stone, which seems a little unsporting. At the waterslide, Cub is suddenly found riding Elephant’s back. Wasn’t Cub well in the lead, calling an inauspicious “You can’t catch me!” over her shoulder, as if tempting the Gingerbread Man’s fate? Cub does win the race through no fault of her own, and the whole event becomes a distant afterthought to Parker-Rees’ illustrations, with their cool jungle landscapes and radioactive colors. A joyful camaraderie closes the book, a welcome counterpoint to its earlier exclusivity, if another touch of randomness.
Fun for one or two reads, but, unlike Cub, it probably won't have much staying power. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-39256-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2012
Animated and educational.
A hare and a ground squirrel banter about the differences between related animals that are often confused for one another.
Jack is “no Flopsy, Mopsy, or Cottontail,” but a “H-A-R-E, hare!” Like sheep and goats, or turtles and tortoises, rabbits and hares may look similar, but hares are bigger, their fur changes color in the winter, and they are born with their eyes wide open. As the ground squirrel (not to be mistaken for a chipmunk (even though Jack cheekily calls it “Chippie”) and Jack engage in playful discussion about animals, a sneaky coyote prowls after them through the Sonoran Desert. This picture book conveys the full narrative in spirited, speech-bubbled dialogue set on expressive illustrations of talking animals. Dark outlines around the characters make their shapes pop against the softly blended colors of the desert backgrounds. Snappy back-and-forth paired with repetition and occasional rhyme enhances the story’s appeal as a read-aloud. As the story progresses, the colors of the sky shift from dawn to dusk, providing subtle, visual bookends for the narrative. One page of backmatter offers a quick guide to eight easily confused pairs, and a second turns a subsequent exploration of the book into a seek-and-find of 15 creatures (and one dessert) hidden in the desert. Unfortunately, while most of the creatures from the seek-and-find appear in poses that match the illustrations in the challenge, not all of them are consistently represented. (This book was reviewed digitally with 7-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 53.3% of actual size.)
Animated and educational. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-358-12506-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Instills a sense of well-being in youngsters while encouraging them to explore the natural world.
This reassuring picture book exemplifies how parents throughout the animal kingdom make homes for their offspring.
The narrative is written from the point of view of a parent talking to their child: “If you were a beaver, I would gnaw on trees with my teeth to build a cozy lodge for us to sleep in during the day.” Text appears in big, easy-to-read type, with the name of the creature in boldface. Additional facts about the animal appear in a smaller font, such as: “Beavers have transparent eyelids to help them see under water.” The gathering of land, air, and water animals includes a raven, a flying squirrel, and a sea lion. “Home” might be a nest, a den, or a burrow. One example, of a blue whale who has homes in the north and south (ocean is implied), will help children stretch the concept into feeling at home in the larger world. Illustrations of the habitats have an inviting luminosity. Mature and baby animals are realistically depicted, although facial features appear to have been somewhat softened, perhaps to appeal to young readers. The book ends with the comforting scene of a human parent and child silhouetted in the welcoming lights of the house they approach: “Wherever you may be, you will always have a home with me.”
Instills a sense of well-being in youngsters while encouraging them to explore the natural world. (Informational picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-63217-224-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little Bigfoot/Sasquatch
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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