Lacking the perfect pairings of animal and behavior, this one just doesn’t stand out.
Paul and Walker continue their If Animals series with this look at animals attending school.
Just what would an all-animal school look like? How would students and teachers behave? Previous series outings each had their strengths and weaknesses, and this one, unfortunately, seems to combine all of the latter. While the array of fauna is a plus, the students are just labeled with the adult name—Beaver, Lemming, etc.—missing the opportunity to teach kids the names for animal young that made If Animals Kissed Good Night (2008) stand out. Worse, though, is the fact that many of the animals don’t stand out as exemplifying their behaviors, instead merely highlighting what happens at school: Elephant stacks cardboard blocks in a tower, Mouse plays with shapes, Bear “hog[s] the triangles,” and Beaver is the reluctant student whose parent drags him to school. “Fox would rush to the story nook, / and bark-bark, ‘Goat! Stop eating that book.’ ” Well, at least Goat is doing what goats often do, even if Fox is acting a lot more like a herd dog than a predator. Onomatopoeia is emphasized throughout, and young listeners will likely enjoy chiming in on the sound effects, though the rhythm and rhyme are inconsistent. Walker’s illustrations are softly colored and delightfully adorable.
Lacking the perfect pairings of animal and behavior, this one just doesn’t stand out. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-374-30902-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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Willems’ formula is still a winner.
The pigeon is back, and he is filthy!
Readers haven’t seen the pigeon for a couple of years, not since The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? (2012), and apparently he hasn’t bathed in all that time. Per the usual routine, the bus driver (clad in shower cap and bathrobe) opens the story by asking readers to help convince the pigeon to take a bath. Though he’s covered in grime, the obstreperous bird predictably resists. He glares at readers and suggests that maybe they need baths. With the turn of the page, Willems anticipates readers’ energetic denials: The pigeon demands, “YEAH! When was the last time YOU had a bath?!” Another beat allows children to supply the answer. “Oh.” A trio of flies that find him repulsive (“P.U.!”) convinces him it’s time. One spread with 29 separate panels depicts the pigeon adjusting the bath (“Too wet!…Too cold.…Too reflective”) before the page turn reveals him jumping in with a spread-filling “SPLASH!” Readers accustomed to the pigeon formula will note that here the story breaks from its normal rhythms; instead of throwing a tantrum, the pigeon discovers what readers already know: “This is FUN!” All the elements are in place, including page backgrounds that modulate from dirty browns to fresh, clean colors and endpapers that bookend the story (including a very funny turnabout for the duckling, here a rubber bath toy).
Willems’ formula is still a winner. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-9087-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2014
A delightfully silly celebration of familial love.
A child in search of the best hugger takes a bedtime tour of the world’s most unusual embraces.
In the opening pages of this rhyming picture book, an unnamed narrator asks a curly-haired, tan-skinned child who they think gives the best hugs. At the narrator’s behest, the protagonist spends their bedtime routine receiving affection from a wacky cast of creatures, ranging from meerkats to porcupines to narwhals. These animals have a variety of body types, but even those with a lack of limbs still express their love; the seahorse, for example, gives the child a “smooch” right before bathtime, and a grinning cobra offers the child a “clinch,” wrapping itself around their leg. Although many of the animals prove to be more prickly than cozy—the narrator points out, for example, the sharpness of bird beaks and porcupine quills—even the snuggliest koalas and bears cannot compare to the best hug of all: a parent’s embrace right before bedtime. The use of second-person address combined with the protagonist’s beautifully illustrated facial expressions and the buoyant, clever lines of verse render this book a hilarious and whimsical ride sure to delight both children and the adults who read to them. The pictures and text work together to create a clear narrative arc for the protagonist, and though the ending is a bit predictable, it’s nevertheless a wonderful payoff. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A delightfully silly celebration of familial love. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5476-1236-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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