written and illustrated by Anne Dana ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 18, 2017
This story provides a charming, warm introduction to Paris for kids, ending on a happy note.
In this debut illustrated children’s book for ages 3 to 5, a French octopus gets lonely and leaves his native fountain to explore Paris and beyond.
Monsieur Pierre Poulpe, a beret-wearing orange octopus with a dapper mustache, has been living in a Paris fountain, along with two fish, the Mademoiselles Poussins, ever since he was a baby. The fish sisters are snooty, though, and talk only to each other, so one day lonesome Pierre decides to follow a diverse group of tourists around Paris. Through coffee and croissants, a boat tour, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame, and Montmarte, Pierre looks around and tries to be friendly, but everyone ignores him. The Notre Dame gargoyles frighten him, and Pierre embarrasses himself with a faux pas. Even the Poussin sisters, who tag along, give him the cold shoulder. Feeling down, Pierre returns to his home fountain, but then two American children come by arguing about what to bring home for souvenirs. “Take me!” shouts Pierre, and they do, kindly holding “some of Pierre’s arms” (great phrase) on the plane so he won’t be scared. Pierre enjoys such California staples as a swimming pool, breakfast smoothie, yoga class, and Bay Area tourist spots, liking it all so much that he settles down in California—though he sometimes has “surprise visitors from Paris,” like a museum guard toting the Mona Lisa and the now-friendly Poussins. In her book, Dana delivers a delightful, colorfully illustrated tale. The human figures are drawn somewhat clumsily, but they’re expressive, and Pierre is full of Gallic charm. As children follow Pierre on his adventures, they can learn something about Paris and its sights; they can also enjoy looking for and finding the Mademoiselles Poussins on all the France-set pages. They can learn a little, too, about the San Francisco area. Children will likely sympathize with Pierre’s loneliness, embarrassment, and fears, which make his new happiness and friendships in California all the sweeter; even the scary gargoyles come to visit along with the formerly snobbish Poussins.
This story provides a charming, warm introduction to Paris for kids, ending on a happy note.Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2017
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: L O Annie Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 20, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Dan Saks ; illustrated by Brooke Smart ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2020
A joyful celebration.
Families in a variety of configurations play, dance, and celebrate together.
The rhymed verse, based on a song from the Noodle Loaf children’s podcast, declares that “Families belong / Together like a puzzle / Different-sized people / One big snuggle.” The accompanying image shows an interracial couple of caregivers (one with brown skin and one pale) cuddling with a pajama-clad toddler with light brown skin and surrounded by two cats and a dog. Subsequent pages show a wide array of families with members of many different racial presentations engaging in bike and bus rides, indoor dance parties, and more. In some, readers see only one caregiver: a father or a grandparent, perhaps. One same-sex couple with two children in tow are expecting another child. Smart’s illustrations are playful and expressive, curating the most joyful moments of family life. The verse, punctuated by the word together, frequently set in oversized font, is gently inclusive at its best but may trip up readers with its irregular rhythms. The song that inspired the book can be found on the Noodle Loaf website.
A joyful celebration. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22276-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
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by Loren Long & illustrated by Loren Long ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2009
Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
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