Transitioning independent readers looking for a funny, fast read need look no further.
Three animal friends help a bird find its missing mama.
With a long body and short legs, dachshund Hotdog awakes one morning to find he has a stuffy nose. Undaunted by his olfactory obstacle, he ventures out to meet friends Lizzie the lizard, who can “blend in with almost everything,” and Kevin, a corpulent cat whose owners like to dress him in costume (his disguise du jour is a cow). The trio happens upon an adorable baby bird fallen from its nest and decides to help it find its mother by crossing a river, visiting a farm, and flying a kite. Reading like an updated version of P.D. Eastman’s beloved Are You My Mother, the tale sets the animals to asking every bird they encounter (a duck, a rooster, and a penguin) if they are indeed the bird’s mother, eliciting giggles from readers who surely know they are not. Do’s short chapters and bouncy prose play with type size and color, easing recent graduates of the Eastman classic into independent reading, and McGuiness’ cheerfully silly caricatures feel comfortably familiar. The plot is familiar too—it falls to Hotdog to save the day, buoyed by cohorts who play into the comedy—giving transitioning readers a comfortable scaffold. This is the first in a proposed series; sequel Party Time! publishes simultaneously.
Transitioning independent readers looking for a funny, fast read need look no further. (Fantasy. 7-9)Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-58720-3
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
Not just for dog lovers, this intro to hero canines is a breed unto itself.
Published to coincide with the release of the IMAX film of the same name, the book spotlights six dog heroes as they each engage in acts of heroism.
Like something out of an episode of Wild Kratts, the book repeatedly labels various dog breeds’ natural abilities as their “superpowers,” whether it’s the great stamina and supersensitive nose of a Dutch shepherd that sniffs out disaster survivors or the webbed toes of a Newfoundland that saves people from the sea. The book broadens its focus from dogs that save lives to include crime fighters (like the bloodhounds that track poachers in Kenya) and dogs that “help people heal,” like Ricochet, an emotional-support golden retriever. The spare text transitions readers smoothly from dog to dog, retaining interest through crisp photography. Paragraphs of brief, engaging text are highlighted against colored borders, giving the overall design a clear, concise look. Details about dog breeds, abilities, defined terms, and locations appear as bullet points inset where appropriate. Backmatter is limited to a list of dog breeds formatted as trading cards, with “personality,” “superpowers,” and “ideal jobs” specified. The authors eschew further reading or internet resources in lieu of a plug for their IMAX film and website.
Not just for dog lovers, this intro to hero canines is a breed unto itself. (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-316-45359-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
A sweet tale but not in the audience’s developmental wheelhouse.
“Rabbit is neat [and] Hare is organized,” but Bunny is messy, loud, and inconsiderate, which makes for a tough co-living arrangement.
Rabbit and Hare use devices to listen to their favorite music privately while Bunny dances around the house loudly strumming his banjo. Bunny neglects his share of household chores, leaving the others to pick up the slack. He interrupts them when they have visitors and makes noise when they need to concentrate, and he hogs their shared facilities. Frustrated and exasperated, his roommates ask Bunny to leave. Bunny moves back home with his parents, but the readjustment is difficult. Rabbit and Hare’s search for a new roommate is just as unsuccessful. They discover they miss one another, so Bunny moves back in with a better attitude, and Hare and Rabbit are more tolerant of his quirks. These anthropomorphic leporidae present as male young adults. Their appearances and personalities are distinct and amusing in Langdo’s bright ink-and-watercolor illustrations, complementing and enhancing the text with detailed vignettes of the action. Broder keeps the tone light in this gentle lesson in tolerance, consideration, and getting along. But the concept of living with roommates instead of their families will probably be foreign to many young readers and outside their developmental comfort zones; these are not child stand-ins à la Frog and Toad but rather young, independent adults.
A sweet tale but not in the audience’s developmental wheelhouse. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: July 9, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-9990249-6-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Ripple Grove
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2019
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