A wonderfully silly story about being true to yourself.
It takes a lot of sass to make “piranhas” and “bananas” rhyme, and Blabey’s book is full of that sass.
Who would guess that a piranha loves fruit? But Brian does. When he tries to tempt other piranhas to try a banana, they turn him down cold. “Well, how about some silverbeet?” Brian asks. “Are you serious, Brian? We eat feet,” they reply. “Or would you rather a bowl of peas?” “Stop it, Brian. We eat knees.” Children will readily guess what the other piranhas reply when Brian asks if they’d like some nice, ripe plums. But Brian keeps trying, ultimately offering the other fish “an awesome fruit platter.” They gobble it up in a typical piranha frenzy, and a hopeful Brian asks, “Is it yucky or yum?” While they admit “It’s very nice,” they enthusiastically proclaim, “But we still prefer bum!” The loose, rhyming back and forth between Brian and the other piranhas make this a fun read-aloud guaranteed to generate giggles and requests to “read it again.” Illustrations, just as sassy as the text, spotlight bright, lantern-jawed avocado-green fish and colorful fruit that pop against a stark white background. And the piranhas’ facial expressions? Priceless. Don’t miss the endpapers for serious and not-so-serious information about piranhas and bananas.
A wonderfully silly story about being true to yourself. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: July 9, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-29713-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A gratifying story of loving and letting go.
A boy, a star, a Martian, and a penguin all return for a tale of games gone awry.
Jeffers reintroduces his droll hero, who appeared in his previous picture books Lost and Found (2006), How To Catch a Star (2004), The Way Back Home (2008), and Up and Down (2010). The boy loves playing games of hide-and-seek with two of his friends, a penguin and a star. The star isn’t adept at hiding, while the penguin is overly fond of the same hiding spot. When the penguin accidentally gets wedged among some rocks, the boy places the star in a rowboat while attempting to dislodge the penguin. The boat immediately sets sail for the North Pole. Unable to find his missing friend, the boy enlists the aid of his Martian pal and, with the penguin in tow, they head out on a rescue mission. A rescue, that is, until they find that someone else has befriended the star. What will become of the star? Like Jeffers’ other boy-related tales, this one is distinguished by its tone; the author/illustrator excels at cultivating a rose-hued melancholy sweetness that will linger long after the book is closed. The palette of the textured watercolors changes according to location and emotion, with the firmament above appearing in a striking final black-and-white culmination.
A gratifying story of loving and letting go. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9780593622247
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Not what it says on the tin.
An energetic kid has an energetic day.
A tall, skinny white girl slides gleefully down a bannister, landing atop a tall bear who seems to be her guardian. Bear suggests tea and toast for breakfast, but Lola whips up a feast. At the library, “a little light reading” becomes stacks of books taller than Lola; at the park, Lola and Bear pause—not on a regular bridge but on Claude Monet’s Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies, inspired by Lola’s newly acquired knowledge of art. The pencil, gouache, and watercolor illustrations are whimsical and breezy, with a lovely airiness that helps give the lie to the piece’s premise. Both the opening lines—“This is Lola. Lola Dutch. Lola Dutch is a little bit much”—and Bear’s repetition of “a little bit much” or variations thereof imply a mischievous or melodramatic Lola. But in a picture-book world founded by Max and Eloise, Lola’s not intense or naughty; she’s merely exuberant. She elegantly re-creates Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam on her ceiling, adding herself and her friends to it. With a different illustrative style, a child-improvised Sistine Chapel at home could certainly be too “much,” but here it’s neither chaotic nor messy. Given that, the repeated premise chastises and chafes—and implies a call for quieter girls.
Not what it says on the tin. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Jan. 30, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-551-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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