A pleasing porcine parable.
An invitation to the palace causes a piggy pickle.
Bobo the warthog is happily rolling in the mud floor of his hollow tree home when he gets a surprise: an invitation to dinner with the new queen. Certain it’s a mistake—he’s usually covered with mud and fleas—he lies awake all night worrying he won’t fit in. In the limo the palace provides the next day, he learns no one’s ever seen the queen; this will be her big reveal. When he arrives at the palace, the other guests (humans all, diverse in both race and gender) are wearing fancy clothes. Bobo thinks about covering up, but the tablecloth he uses makes a mess…then his fleas start acting up. Soon the guards are after him, trying to throw him out. The ensuing chase wrecks the palace. “Who made this mess?” shouts the queen from her palanquin. Shamefacedly, Bobo confesses. With a squeal of delight, the queen (also a warthog) shouts “WELL DONE!” Suddenly everyone is free to have fun and be as messy as they like, even the stuffy palace guards. Bahrampour’s text and watercolor cartoons are neatly in sync, Bobo’s bewilderment yielding to a determination to stay for dinner as the foolishness proceeds. The hoggy hijinks of the chase through the palace and the messy finish will appeal to little listeners, who will hope for an invite to the queen and Bobo’s next party. The cartoon illustrations show a (human) cast of many hues. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 61.2% of actual size.)
A pleasing porcine parable. (Picture book. 2-7)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4571-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren.
In talk-show host Fallon and illustrator Ordóñez’s latest picture-book collaboration, an elderly pooch waxes rhapsodic about a life well lived.
Observing Papa sitting in his chair watching TV all day, a young pup says, “I’m starting to think…you don’t do ANYTHING.” So Papa proceeds to list his accomplishments, both big and small, mundane and profound. Some are just a result of being older and physically bigger (being tall enough to reach a high shelf and strong enough to open jars); others include winning a race and performing in a band when he was younger. Eventually, the pup realizes that while Papa may have slowed down in his old age, he’s led a full life. The most satisfying thing about Papa’s life now? Watching his grandchild take center stage: “I can say lots of thoughts / but I choose to be quiet. / I’d rather you discover things and then try it.” Fallon’s straightforward text is sweetly upbeat, though it occasionally lacks flow, forcing incongruous situations together to fit the rhyme scheme (“I cook and I mow, / and I once flew a plane. // I play newspaper puzzles because it’s good for my brain”). Featuring uncluttered, colorful backgrounds, Ordóñez’s child-friendly digital art at times takes on sepia tones, evoking the sense of looking back at old photos or memories. Though the creators tread familiar ground, the love between Papa and his little one is palpable.
A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9781250393975
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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