"Everyone except die-hard Pig fans may skip this installment. (Picture book. 5-8)"
People who live in popular spots always complain when human tourists invade, but when the visitor is an unruly dog like Pig the pug, the situation gets even worse.
Read full book review >
"Those who have enjoyed Pig's other adventures in badness will likely love this one, and the obviously frequent mentions of things potty-related will recruit new fans. (Picture book. 3-7)"
"This is a tremendously moving story, but some people will be moved only on the second reading, after they've Googled 'How to pet a porcupine.' (Picture book. 3-5)"
"Kids will find the premise comical, but as far as a rewarding Christmas story is concerned, a dog-bites-Santa joke 'is just not enough.' (Picture book. 3-6)"
In this rhyming story, the latest in a series from Australia, Pig the pug celebrates Christmas in his characteristically greedy fashion.
Read full book review >
"Pig probably doesn't have any fans per se (who'd like the nasty little booger?), but his antics make learning good sportsdogship fun. (Picture book. 4-8)"
"Another uproarious romp that explores what it is to be good as well as do good. (Fiction. 7-11)"
The foursome of reformed villains returns with a new mission and new team member in a continued effort to repair their reputations in Blabey's (The Bad Guys, 2017) rollicking sequel.
Read full book review >
"Children who love dogs will find this amusing the first time through, but the humor palls quickly. (Picture book. 3-5)"
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.
Read full book review >
An energetic, frizzy-haired girl claims her quirkiness but wrestles with her family's frequent moves. "I'm a bit unusual," Sunday introduces herself to readers, skipping rope along a hopscotch grid while blowing a pink bubble. Her smile and airborne posture connote confidence, which helps at every new school. Imagination counters her isolation, turning an empty table into an Alice in Wonderland homage and a lonely field (other children seen together, in the distance) into companionable hand-swinging with a life-size elephant and bear. But feelings of ambivalence hover. Sunday's proud of her career ambitions (fashion design featuring scuba flippers? soccer? space travel?) and skill at befriending girls, but the constant relocations upset her, no matter how "wonderfully glamorous" she calls her mobile life. Is this defensiveness, as it sounds like when she says, "boys smell, have germs, and probably love me," or true mixed feelings? Blabey doesn't answer that question, but his clear acrylics and mixed media ground Sunday's excitements and worries—shown in extreme, sometimes manic, facial expressions—on soft, solid, comforting backgrounds. (Picture book. 4-6)Read full book review >
A friendship of opposites receives splendid visual treatment. Pearl Barley solves mysteries, chatters and "likes to run amok," while bashful Charlie Parsley waters daisies, peruses The Benefits of Wearing Felt and hunkers down beneath a pile of pillows. Pearl motorcycle-jumps over a chasm balancing teacups on one foot and a fishbowl on the other, while red yarn swoops down from her wrist into the skein from which Charlie sits calmly knitting. Valiant Pearl's sword and newspaper hat chase away Charlie's fears as she confidently holds him piggyback; Charlie's "lovely beside manner" comforts tired Pearl as he brings her warm milk. Blabey's spirited and energetic paintings use acrylic and mixed media on textured board. Compositions vary boldly (Charlie's shyness shows him peeping in from off-page), and deadpan humor runs throughout. The control of color shines: Low-intensity tertiary colors are highlighted with bright bits, while black-and-white pages reveal fatigue, fear, cold and feeling "small or lonely or just plain blue." Make sure to note Charlie's wonderfully expressive eyebrows; they, like this book, stand out. (Picture book. 3-6)Read full book review >
Thank you! You’ll get the first email of recommendations from our critics within a week!
Bummer. There was a problem adding your email address. Please try again.
Subscribe to Pro Connect
Be the first to discover new talent!
Each week, our editors select the one author and one book they believe to be most worthy of your attention and highlight them in our Pro Connect email alert.
Sign up here to receive your FREE alerts.
