Rollicking, imagination-inspired outdoor fun.
Join these two imaginative children in this outdoor adventure with a Waldorf feel.
When a father suggests that his child and a friend play outside, the kids bolt out the door. They explore a treehouse, garden patches, a rabbit hutch, a henhouse, and more. Imagination ignites and chaos ensues as the children enter the “lair of the giant Gourdus, the dreaded King of Pumpkins.” In the children’s wild imaginings, red eyes in darkened cages turn harmless penned rabbits into zombies, and a hose—imagined into a “fire-breathing snake”—helps take down “a Martian with a thousand slimy tentacles.” A wheelbarrow ride that ends in a spectacular crash deprives the children of their magical powers and lands them in trouble, with, perhaps, the sad prospect of losing a lemonade treat. With spare text translated from French, the story is carried by energetic, digitally created illustrations in crayon colors with minimal shading and a solid beige background. Bursts of yellows, oranges, and reds create eye-catching illustrations perfect for storytime. DuBois uses crosshatching for the characters’ skin; the father and one of the children have reddish complexions, while the other child has light tan skin. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Rollicking, imagination-inspired outdoor fun. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-990252-16-7
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Milky Way Picture Books
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Echoes of Runaway Bunny color this exchange between a bath-averse piglet and his patient mother. Using a strategy that would probably be a nonstarter in real life, the mother deflects her stubborn offspring’s string of bath-free occupational conceits with appeals to reason: “Pirates NEVER EVER take baths!” “Pirates don’t get seasick either. But you do.” “Yeesh. I’m an astronaut, okay?” “Well, it is hard to bathe in zero gravity. It’s hard to poop and pee in zero gravity too!” And so on, until Mom’s enticing promise of treasure in the deep sea persuades her little Treasure Hunter to take a dive. Chunky figures surrounded by lots of bright white space in Segal’s minimally detailed watercolors keep the visuals as simple as the plotline. The language isn’t quite as basic, though, and as it rendered entirely in dialogue—Mother Pig’s lines are italicized—adult readers will have to work hard at their vocal characterizations for it to make any sense. Moreover, younger audiences (any audiences, come to that) may wonder what the piggy’s watery closing “EUREKA!!!” is all about too. Not particularly persuasive, but this might coax a few young porkers to get their trotters into the tub. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25425-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A real treasure of a book for any child who has struggled to learn a skill.
A young Black boy struggles with writing—until a special guest visits his class.
Abdul loves to tell stories about the people in his neighborhood, and his friends at school love hearing them. But whenever he tries to write down his stories in a notebook, spelling rules confuse him, and his “scribbly, scratchy, scrawly letters” never stay on the lines. Abdul decides that his stories are not for books. One day, a visitor comes to Abdul’s class; Mr. Muhammad—a Black man with a flattop haircut like Abdul’s and whose sneakers, like Abdul’s, have “not a single crease or scuff”—is a writer who urges the students to “write new stories with new superheroes.” Abdul feels motivated to give writing another shot, but again he ends up with endless erasure marks and smudges. Mr. Muhammad shows Abdul his own messy notebook, and Abdul, who is left-handed, decides to try writing without erasing. He makes a mess but searches through the clutter for sentences he loves. He rewrites and rewrites and works on his mistakes until he forms a story he likes, proudly claiming the title of writer. Bright, full-color, textured digital illustrations depict a racially diverse, joyful community. This story offers an honest portrayal of learning differences and demonstrates the importance of role models who reflect kids’ own backgrounds. It is a lovely addition to the shelf of meaningful children’s books portraying Black Muslim Americans in everyday situations. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A real treasure of a book for any child who has struggled to learn a skill. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6298-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
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