Some may find squirrels to be pesky, but the glee found within these pages is hard to ignore.
First published in 1871, the poem “Whisky Frisky” is reimagined with additional verses and lively photographic images.
“Frisky brisky / Hippity hop / Up he goes / To the treetop.” It’s difficult to improve on White’s bright opening (except for switching out the possibly troublesome “whisky,” of course) but the original poem was only a few lines long. Mimicking the simple, deliberately paced text, Lurie effortlessly picks up where White left off. “Scrambly brambly / No time to rest / Making a home / In a leafy nest.” The squirrels scamper up trees, nibble on nuts and evade a hawk, in a very dramatic spread. Photographs dominated by rich greens and browns capture startlingly up-close portraits of these frisky little fellows, which are normally just a blur of tail. Head’s photos freeze the squirrels in mid action, capturing quite often adorable, endearing expressions. Regardless of which came first, the new verses or the photographs, the text and illustrations are inextricably matched. Budding naturalists and park enthusiasts will appreciate this slow-motion peek into a squirrel’s life.
Some may find squirrels to be pesky, but the glee found within these pages is hard to ignore. (author’s, photographer’s notes) (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2410-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2012
Caldecott winner McCully’s latest effort is a wordless book in which a family of barnyard kittens explores its surroundings while they wait for Mama to feed them. The caring family dog looks after them when their explorations lead to trouble. Hungry, two of them fall into the milk can and a predatory bird threatens all of them when they venture outdoors. But the watchful dog’s barking scares the bird, alerts the farmer, and brings attention to the fact that mother cat cannot reach her babies because she is locked in a storeroom. The dog even offers the kittens a bone when he realizes they are hungry. The happy ending sees Mama’s release from the storeroom with a mouse for kitties’ meal and then a cozy snuggle for all, including the dog. This pleasant story about caring relationships lacks a strong illustrative narrative. The cat-family relationship is not clearly established before the action takes place. Mother cat appears in the frontispiece with the kittens, but when the story begins after the title page, there is no indication that she is out hunting food for them. McCully’s watercolors, particularly those depicting the barn are dark, making it difficult to discern the details. The movement back and forth from the adventures of the kittens to the actions of the mother cat could be confusing. A nice story, but one that may need lots of prompting from adults for the young child to “read” by herself. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-8037-2505-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
The autumn leaves are swirling all around, so it must be time to gather at Hibernation Station to board the train to sleep. An adorable crew of pajama-clad forest animals make their way to the train, a collection of log cars with variously sized holes and crevices. Large and small, reptile and mammal, true hibernators and “light sleepers” all pile onto the train. But it’s not long before there are problems. Bear’s roommate keeps him awake, groundhog’s hole is too small and so on. The uniformed railroad bears look over the hibernation maps and sort everyone out so that soon the only sound is of snoozing. An author’s note gives more information about hibernation, including the distinction between true hibernators and light sleepers. Cyrus’s pencil-and–digital color illustrations are filled with rich colors and details, albeit anthropomorphized ones. The fundamental problem is that a jam-packed train is a poor model to illustrate this phenomenon. Denise Fleming' s Time to Sleep (1997) still sets the standard. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4169-3788-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2010
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