This affable tale chronicles the adventures of a rubber duck on the loose, with Brown impishly recounting the story from the faux fowl’s point of view. Love-a-Duck is quite content to be Jane’s bath toy. However, when the waterlogged plaything is unable to squeak, it fears losing Jane’s affection. A tumble from the windowsill and the intervention of the family pooch lead to a calamitous day outside. Young readers will be entertained by the travails of the beleaguered bath toy as it finds itself unceremoniously dropped in a pond, where it comes face to face with a flock of real ducks. A happy ending is in store for the yellow toy as it returns home with its exultant squeak restored. The avuncular narrative voice engages the audience in repetitive questions and answers, and Love-a-Duck’s comical attempts at speaking provide plenty of participation opportunities. Chessa’s lively pencil sketches comically convey Love-a-Duck’s exasperation as it endures the events of the day. Her cheery, inviting paintings are the just-right complement to this quirky tale. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2263-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 30, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2010
If Black Lives Matter, they deserve more specificity than this.
A lushly illustrated picture book with a troubling message.
Little Lala walks with her father after his successful day of fishing. When Mama calls her home for bed, a host of “good night”s delays her: to the bird, the monkey, and even the rock. As Lala wanders through her village in the darkening twilight, readers appreciate its expansive beauty and Lala’s simple joys. Although it’s been artfully written and richly illustrated by an award-winning author of many multicultural stories, this book has problems that overshadow its beauty. “African veld” sets the story in southern Africa, but its vague locale encourages Americans to think that distinctions among African countries don’t matter. Lala wears braids or locks that stick straight up, recalling the 19th-century pickaninny, and her inconsistent skin color ranges from deep ebony like her father’s to light brown. Shadows may cause some of these differences, but if it weren’t for her identifiable hair, readers might wonder if the same child wanders from page to page. Perhaps most striking of all is Lala’s bedtime story: not an African tale but an American classic. While this might evoke nostalgia in some readers, it also suggests that southern Africa has no comparably great bedtime books for Lala, perhaps in part because American children’s literature dominates the world market.
If Black Lives Matter, they deserve more specificity than this. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-17384-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
Don’ts and Do’s in a familiar formula go down easily for fans and will provide a good conversation starter for parents.
Officer Buckle had Gloria, his police canine, to help his audience see the value of his safety lessons; Yolen and Teague have their dinos.
Addressing such perennial topics as jumping on the bed, climbing too high and stair safety, Yolen and Teague first present the dinos doing the wrong things, their faces plainly showing that they are surprised and scared by the world of hurt about to come their ways while caring (and dwarfed) loved ones freak out in the backgrounds. “Does he climb up too high? // Or jump on his bed? // Does he race on his bike with no helmet on head?” (Scansion is a bit of an issue.) Of course not! And though the text says that it will tell readers why, it doesn’t, instead just explaining what the dinos do to stay safe. Among other things, Cearadactylus holds Mama’s hand and crosses with the light, Majungasaurus swims where his papa can see him, Agustinia wears his bike helmet, and Concavenator brings water to drink on long hikes. As in previous outings, Teague’s artwork steals the show, the realism of the scenes and human figures juxtaposed with the giant, though childish, dinos. Labels in the illustrations and endpapers will help dino mavens identify their favorites.
Don’ts and Do’s in a familiar formula go down easily for fans and will provide a good conversation starter for parents. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-439-24104-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Blue Sky/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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