Bear, a joy-filled creature, is having a lovely relaxing time traipsing through a chalky bright meadow with nothing to do but rest, splash, scratch, swing and skip. His bucolic world is enticing him, but he’s in trouble with bee who wants to collect pollen, mole who wants to dig, heron who wants to fish, fox who wants to sleep and woodpecker who wants to peck holes. Why? Because they are busy, and bear is in the way. Each distressed animal’s complaint is in almost the same words creating a cumulative tale, simple to follow and enjoy. Bear is likable and responds sympathetically to each animal’s protest. Finally, the animals recognize how much fun he is. In her sunny scenes, Kolanovic sprinkles humorous touches throughout; for instance, one of the fish who escaped heron sticks out its tongue and spits, “blah.” Playing with friends really is the thing to like best. (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: June 1, 2005
ISBN: 1-56148-473-3
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Good Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet and silly pair of tales about an eccentric gosling and her newfound friend. In Gossie, Dunrea (Bear Noel, 2000, etc.) describes the fashionable fowl’s favorite pastime: strutting about in her snazzy red rainboots. Yet, when her boots mysteriously disappear one day, Gossie sets out to locate them—only to discover a kindred spirit in fellow gosling Gertie. Despite her adoration of her footwear, Gossie amends her perception of high fashion, determining that it’s more fun to share accessories with a friend than to be perfectly attired but all alone. Gossie & Gertie chronicles the loving relationship of the best pals. Clad in bright red and blue boots, respectively, Gossie and Gertie gallivant about in tandem: wherever Gossie wanders, Gertie is sure to follow. However, when Gertie ventures out on her own, Gossie learns the benefits of letting her friend occasionally take the lead. Dunrea’s tales are simply wrought and rendered, with the ink and watercolor illustrations capturing the quaint, whimsical charm of the stories. Situated against stark white backgrounds, the bright-hued vignettes communicate an abundance of expression in a few deft strokes. The potent combination of toddler-appealing story lines and the charismatic charm of the illustrations assure that these smartly clad geese will be marching straight into the hearts of readers. (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2002
ISBN: 0-618-17674-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2002
Who knew that turning the pages could be the best part of a book?
The concept of this picture book is simple enough: 10 birds topple, slip, and dive their way off the titular twig until there is one left. The text itself echoes familiar singsong-y children’s rhymes like “Five Little Pumpkins.” While it mostly succeeds, there are some awkward spots: “5 on a twig, there used to be more… / SNAP! Don’t say a word, now there are four.” (On each page the number is both spelled out and represented as a numeral). The real scene stealer, however, is the book’s interplay between Cole’s illustrations and the physical pages themselves. In much the same way Eric Carle utilizes the pages in The Very Hungry Caterpillar to show the little critter eating its way through the week, Cole uses pages of increasing width to show how the twig grows shorter as each bird falls and marches off purposefully with the others, all headed toward verso with pieces of twig in their beaks. Stylistically, the book is captivating. The very colorful, egg-shaped birds appear on a single, thin black line on a stark white background. This backdrop stands in powerful contrast to the book’s final two pages, which are set against black negative space, a theme echoed in the book’s feather-print endpapers. The heavy, thick pages make it easy for little hands to participate. The text takes a back seat to the playful and compelling design, which is sure to delight readers.
Who knew that turning the pages could be the best part of a book? (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-72821-593-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
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