In a surplus of books on city life, this one is charming and sweet.
Clad in yellow once again, the 16 diverse and curious pals from Weather Girls (2018) and Nature Girls (2019) set out to explore the big city.
From sunrise to sunset, the city is a sight to behold. The girls start early in the morning, grabbing bagel breakfasts at a coffee cart before being enveloped by the city’s hustle and bustle. Crowds swarm the sidewalks, and traffic clogs the streets. The tiny tots gamely face it all with smiles and exuberance (except one, who gets a little too close to a scooter). When rain threatens their plans, they head down to the subway (New Yorkers will appreciate the nod to Pizza Rat). Their first stop? The bookstore! Then there’s a trip to the museum, an eggs-only restaurant (“Eggsquisite” of course), and the park. The city has something for everyone. The rhyme is brisk: “Everyone is crossing streets— / Lights and whistles, / honks and tweets!” Aki’s pace matches the city’s commotion. The specific city landscape is nebulous, so therefore the appended further information on cities is generic. Instead of naming precise landmarks, for instance, it simply talks about how “buildings are often close together” along with nonspecific information about urban, suburban, and rural differences in greenery, housing, and transportation.
In a surplus of books on city life, this one is charming and sweet. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-31395-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Godwin Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The action of this rhymed and humorous tale centers upon a mouse who "took a stroll/through the deep dark wood./A fox saw the mouse/and the mouse looked good." The mouse escapes being eaten by telling the fox that he is on his way to meet his friend the gruffalo (a monster of his imagination), whose favorite food is roasted fox. The fox beats a hasty retreat. Similar escapes are in store for an owl and a snake; both hightail it when they learn the particulars: tusks, claws, terrible jaws, eyes orange, tongue black, purple prickles on its back. When the gruffalo suddenly materializes out of the mouse's head and into the forest, the mouse has to think quick, declaring himself inedible as the "scariest creature in the deep dark wood," and inviting the gruffalo to follow him to witness the effect he has on the other creatures. When the gruffalo hears that the mouse's favorite food is gruffalo crumble, he runs away. It's a fairly innocuous tale, with twists that aren't sharp enough and treachery that has no punch. Scheffler's funny scenes prevent the suspense from culminating; all his creatures, predator and prey, are downright lovable. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: June 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8037-2386-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1999
SEEN & HEARD
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