by Anna Dewdney & illustrated by Anna Dewdney ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2010
Roly Poly is a pangolin, a small, endangered mammal covered with scales found mainly in Africa, China and Southeast Asia. Pangolins roll up in tight balls to sleep or protect themselves, which Roly Poly does quite a bit, but real pangolins are also supposed to be expert problem solvers. Roly Poly, however, has a thing or two to learn in this area. “Roly Poly, very small, / doesn’t like new things at all,” is the verse repeated throughout the book when Roly Poly encounters a new food, new place or new friend. He reacts by either clinging to his mama or rolling up in a ball. Finally Roly Poly encounters another timid, balled-up pangolin, and together they find strength in numbers. The sentiment is easy to empathize with, but Roly’s efforts to change are somewhat passive, and readers might wish for a more heroic act of courage on his part. Dewdney’s functional illustrations present themselves cheerfully enough, but the textured green-and-brown palette becomes monotonous. Roly, alas, is no Llama Llama. (note on pangolins) (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: March 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-670-01160-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Dec. 30, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2010
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by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2014
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
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by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson
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by David Elliott & illustrated by Holly Meade ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2008
Energetic woodcuts accompany playfully simple poems as they give young readers an engaging tour of the barnyard. From the usual suspects—rooster, cow, sheep—to some of the less celebrated denizens of the farm—snake, bees, turtle—each poem varies to suit its subject. The barn cat’s verse is succinct: “Mice / had better / think twice.” The snake’s winds its way down the page in sinuous shape. At their best, Elliott’s images are unexpected and all the more lovely: The turtle “Lifts her fossil head / and blinks / one, two, three / times in the awful light.” Others are not so successful, but Meade’s illustrations give them credence: The rooster “Crows and struts. / He’s got feathers! / He’s got guts!” This rhythmic but rather opaque assertion is accompanied by an oversized rooster who dominates the foreground; eyes shut in concentration, he levitates himself with the force of his crow—the very embodiment of “guts.” Farmyard books are a dime a dozen, but this one is a worthwhile addition, for those poems that reach beyond the ordinary and for the good-natured illustrations that complement them. (Picture book/poetry. 2-5)
Pub Date: March 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3322-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2008
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by David Elliott ; illustrated by Ellen Rooney
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