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A LOT OF OTTERS

Name: A LOT OF OTTERS
Author: Barbara Helen Berger
ISBN: 0-399-22910-8

by Barbara Helen Berger & illustrated by Barbara Helen Berger ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 22, 1997

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The title may give the impression that this is a counting book; instead, Berger (The Jewel Heart, 1994, etc.) presents an exquisitely composed and tender fantasy, melding text and pictures so well that one could not exist without the other. She calibrates the pacing of this picture book perfectly: The first page shows a toddler walking with a book; the baby climbs into a box at the title page; at the opening of the real story, the child begins reading the book, about ``Mother Moon'' looking for her child, her ``moonlet.'' What the child sees on the picture-book page is the scene readers see; from there, the events are nonstop: The toddler drops the book, and an otter spots it from underwater. That otter reads the book aloud to a group of otters treading water, including one who floats on her back with her baby lying upon her like a fuzzy teddy bear. The moon-mother's tears fall into the sea, turning into stars—a folktale element that allows for lovely compositions as the otters dive for the stars. Mother and moonlet—who turns out to be the toddler—are reunited. Themes of independence, separation, and reunion are all given play in a book in which sweet otters act like children and look like expertly drafted, favorite stuffed animals, floating and dozing off at the end. (Picture book. 2-6)

Pub Date: Sept. 22, 1997

ISBN: 0-399-22910-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Philomel

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1997

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
THUNDER BUNNY
by Barbara Helen Berger & illustrated by Barbara Helen Berger

- BOOK REVIEW
ALL THE WAY TO LHASA
adapted by Barbara Helen Berger & illustrated by Barbara Helen Berger

- BOOK REVIEW
ANGELS ON A PIN
by Barbara Helen Berger

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THERE'S A BEAR ON MY CHAIR

by Ross Collins ; illustrated by Ross Collins ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 2, 2016

Silly, laugh-out-loud fun

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A bear has settled himself in a mouse’s chair, and nothing will move him.

The big polar bear is certainly not unaware that he has usurped the chair, but he seems to be feeling no guilt about it. The sweater-clad mouse speaks directly to readers, airing complaints, making outrageous threats, offering bribes, and throwing tantrums. It even acknowledges that the bear’s endangered status calls for some extra care, but the situation is untenable. All the while, the bear is silently self-absorbed. In desperation, the mouse leaves for parts unknown. When the bear finally ambles away, he heads home to his igloo only to find that mouse asleep in his bed. Now the tale has turned, and the bear at last speaks: one, perplexed line. The mouse’s one-sided diatribe appears in very large print with key words emphasized in red. Every second line ends in a rhyme with the contested “chair,” including “glare,” “lair,” “hair,” even “leisure wear,” and (of course) “underwear.” Collins’ pencil-and-digital illustrations are completely interwoven with the text, enlarging and enhancing the tale with over-the-top humor and expressive body language. The mouse jumps out of a box (in that underwear), offers a juicy pear, glares from atop a ladder, and more. The bear matches these goofy antics as he reads a newspaper, does an Elvis impression, takes a snooze, and checks his cellphone.

Silly, laugh-out-loud fun . (Picture book. 2-6)

Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-7636-8942-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Nosy Crow

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
THERE'S NOTHING FASTER THAN A CHEETAH
by Tom Nicoll ; illustrated by Ross Collins

- BOOK REVIEW
WE DISAGREE ABOUT THIS TREE
by Ross Collins ; illustrated by Ross Collins

- BOOK REVIEW
THERE'S A MOUSE IN MY HOUSE
by Ross Collins ; illustrated by Ross Collins

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FIVE BLACK CATS

by Patricia Hegarty ; illustrated by Julia Woolf ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2013

For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery.

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A troop of cats traverse a spooky landscape as they make their way to a party hosted by ghosts.

Each double-page spread shows the felines’ encounters with the likes of an owl, jack-o’-lanterns or a bat. One or two of these creepy meetings may be too abstract for the youngest readers, as the cats hear eerie noises with no discernible source on the page. The text, which consists of one rhyming couplet per scene, mostly scans despite a couple of wobbles: “Five black cats get a bit of a scare / As the flip-flapping wings of a bat fill the air.” The sleek, slightly retro art, likely created using a computer, depicts the cats cavorting at night through a shadowy cityscape, the countryside and a haunted house; they may scare some toddlers and delight others. A brighter color palette would have given the project a friendlier, more universal appeal. Luckily, the well-lit, final party scene provides a playful conclusion.

For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery. (Board book. 2-4)