Riddled with robotic terms, this bedtime story is clearly one-note, but it’s still charming enough to earn fans of all...
This little red robot will do anything to avoid going to sleep.
When Mom Unit announces that it is time to power down for the night, Little Robot quickly initiates his stalling program (a program equally familiar to toddlers and robots alike). He takes twice as long to brush his cogs, he begs for an extra can of oil, and right before the door is shut, his circuits begin to hurt. Mom Unit patiently solves every problem, from error messages (nightmares) to rust monsters hiding in the closet, but she knows when it is time for a firm, “Enough!” Despite every effort to the contrary, Little Robot’s large, bulbous eyes finally begin to close. After all, who can resist the warmth and coziness of the sleep module? Zeltner uses a creative wash of acrylic on plywood with various stains and glazes to create this space-age family. Mother Unit looks especially svelte in a lilac metal dress, while Little Robot is boxy and bright red, appropriate for his defiant streak.
Riddled with robotic terms, this bedtime story is clearly one-note, but it’s still charming enough to earn fans of all youngsters who engage in bedtime battles. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62779-125-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Dec. 9, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
A picture book made to incite pleasure and joy.
The celebrated picture-book artist enthusiastically joins the nonsense tradition.
Carle’s nearly 50-year career has produced myriad concept books about counting, the alphabet, and colors, as well as simple, original stories, retellings of fairy tales, and picture books that push the physical boundaries of the form. This latest proves that Carle can reinvent himself as a creator in the field, as he now revels in the absurd, eschewing any pretense of teaching a concept or even engaging with story. Instead, spread after spread uses nonsensical text and sublimely ridiculous pictures to provoke laughter and head-shaking delight. In addition to the book’s title, art immediately cues the book’s silly tone: the cover displays one of Carle’s signature collages against an empty white background; it depicts a duckling emerging from a peeled-back banana peel. The title-page art presents a deer sprouting flowers rather than antlers from its head. When the book proper begins, and language joins illustration, readers are ushered into a series of situations and scenarios that upend expectations and play with conventions. “Ouch! Who’s that in my pouch?” asks a kangaroo with a little blond child instead of a joey in her pouch. Another scene shows two snakes, joined at the middle and looking for their respective tails.
A picture book made to incite pleasure and joy. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-399-17687-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2015
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Pedestrian.
Mr. Brown can’t help with farm chores because his shoes are missing—a common occurrence in his household and likely in many readers’ as well.
Children will be delighted that the titular Mr. Brown is in fact a child. After Mr. Brown looks in his closet and sorts through his other family members’ shoes with no luck, his father and his siblings help him search the farm. Eventually—after colorful pages that enable readers to spot footwear hiding—the family gives up on their hunt, and Mr. Brown asks to be carried around for the chores. He rides on his father’s shoulders as Papa gets his work done, as seen on a double-page spread of vignettes. The resolution is more of a lesson for the adult readers than for children, a saccharine moment where father and son express their joy that the missing shoes gave them the opportunity for togetherness—with advice for other parents to appreciate those fleeting moments themselves. Though the art is bright and cheerful, taking advantage of the setting, it occasionally is misaligned with the text (for example, the text states that Mr. Brown is wearing his favorite green shirt while the illustration is of a shirt with wide stripes of white and teal blue, which could confuse readers at the point where they’re trying to figure out which family member is Mr. Brown). The family is light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Pedestrian. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5460-0389-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: WorthyKids/Ideals
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
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