Ballad stanzas celebrate gulls who flourish both near and far from the sea.
Sayre, who has introduced all kinds of animals with clever rhymes and rhythms designed for reading aloud, turns to the gull family. While readers and listeners may know that gulls follow boats and frequent sandy shores, they may be surprised to learn that they fly into deserts, forage in garbage dumps, pursue plowing tractors and feeding whales, and use human-paved roads to open clams shells. After a series of action examples, one stanza to a spread, comes a change of pace, stretching out a reveal over a page turn: “Seagulls nest, / gather sticks. / Spotted eggs, then… // …spotted chicks!” The narrative pauses with a note about the curious way these birds move: “Left wing, left leg, / stretch as one.” With time, the chicks grow, fledge and become adults, circling “from ship to shore” all over again. While Sayre’s books are often illustrated with her own photographs, the choice not to try to photograph the confusing gull family is sensible. From the laughing gulls on the title page to the California gull on the final, dedication page, first-time picture-book illustrator Bogdańska’s digital images are reasonably recognizable (though never identified) and convey something of the range of gull appearances and the wide variety of their habitats. The backmatter adds additional interesting information about gulls’ feeding habits, their varied and varying plumage, and their common name.
Another deceptively simple, soaringly successful flight. (acknowledgments) (Informational picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68437-197-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: Jan. 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S POETRY | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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Animal behaviors change as they prepare to face the winter.
Migrate, hibernate, or tolerate. With smooth rhymes and jaunty illustrations, Salas and Gévry introduce three strategies animals use for coping with winter cold. The author’s long experience in imparting information to young readers is evident in her selection of familiar animals and in her presentation. Spread by spread she introduces her examples, preparing in fall and surviving in winter. She describes two types of migration: Hummingbirds and monarchs fly, and blue whales travel to the warmth of the south; earthworms burrow deeper into the earth. Without using technical words, she introduces four forms of hibernation—chipmunks nap and snack; bears mainly sleep; Northern wood frogs become an “icy pop,” frozen until spring; and normally solitary garter snakes snuggle together in huge masses. Those who can tolerate the winter still change behavior. Mice store food and travel in tunnels under the snow; moose grow a warmer kind of fur; the red fox dives into the snow to catch small mammals (like those mice); and humans put on warm clothes and play. The animals in the soft pastel illustrations are recognizable, more cuddly than realistic, and quite appealing; their habitats are stylized. The humans represent varied ethnicities. Each page includes two levels of text, and there’s further information in the extensive backmatter. Pair with Joyce Sidman and Rick Allen’s Winter Bees (2014).
A good choice for a late fall storytime. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5415-2900-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: June 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The team of Costain and Lovšin (Daddies are Awesome, 2016) gives moms their due.
Rhyming verses tell of all the ways moms are amazing: “Mommies are magic. / They kiss away troubles… // …find gold in the sunlight / and rainbows in bubbles.” Moms are joyful—the best playmates. They are also fearless and will protect and soothe if you are scared. Clever moms know just what to do when you’re sad, sporty moms run and leap and climb, while tender moms cuddle. “My mommy’s so special. / I tell her each day… // … just how much I love her / in every way!” Whereas dads were illustrated with playful pups and grown-up dogs in the previous book, moms are shown as cats with their kittens in myriad colors, sizes, and breeds. Lovšin’s cats look as though they are smiling at each other in their fun, though several spreads are distractingly cut in half by the gutter. However delightful the presentation—the verse rolls fairly smoothly, and the cats are pretty cute—the overall effect is akin to a cream puff’s: very sweet and insubstantial.
A $16.99 Mother’s Day card for cat lovers. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62779-651-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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