A sweetly loopy look at domestic travails filtered through a wickedly subversive lens.
Bringing home the bacon (or, in this case, the fish) is not as simple as it may seem.
The title of this wordless continuation of The Chicken Thief (2010) is something of a misnomer, as Hen spends much of this eventful day apart from Fox. The connubial bliss of Hen and Fox is marred by an empty refrigerator, so Hen kisses her egg goodbye and leaves it in the care of Fox while she and friend Crab head out for a day of fishing. She lands a big one in short order, but an equally short order it is snaggled by a giant bird that flies off with fish, Hen (clinging to the rod) and Crab (clinging to Hen's tail feathers). Comical misadventures ensue, all laid out in super-wide-screen format with Rodriguez’s characteristic fine line and sense of absurdity. This story does not present the same emotional nuance of its predecessor, but children will get plenty of giggles watching Hen and Crab fend off giant, ravenous hatchlings and battle a sea serpent. The complexity comes when Hen opens the door to see a cracked egg shell and a skillet on the table; about to bop Fox with said skillet, she holds herself back when she sees him cuddling an adorable fox-hen baby.
A sweetly loopy look at domestic travails filtered through a wickedly subversive lens. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59270-109-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader!
Fun with friends makes for a great day.
Norbit, a salmon-colored worm with a pink kerchief, joyfully greets the day and everyone he encounters. “Hello, friends! It’s time for fun with the sun! Let’s play!” He and his menagerie of forest pals—including the sun, who grows limbs and descends from the sky—exuberantly engage in various forms of physical activity such as jumping, going down a slide, spinning around, and watching the clouds go by. Young readers will readily relate, as these are games that most children are familiar with. As day turns to night, Norbit says farewell to Sun and welcomes Moon with an invitation to continue the fun. Watkins has created a vivid world of movement and merriment. Her illustrations feature bright bursts of color that match the energy of the text, with most sentences ending in an exclamation point. The author/illustrator incorporates many elements that make for an ideal early-reading experience (despite the use of a contraction or two): art free from clutter, text consisting of words with only one or two syllables, and repetition and recurring bits, such as a continued game of hide-and-seek with Sun. Inspired by never-before-seen sketches from the Dr. Seuss Collection archives at the University of California San Diego, this is the first title for Seuss Studios, a new imprint for original stories from “emerging authors and illustrators” who “honor Seuss’s hallmark spirit of creativity and imagination.”
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader! (author's note) (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780593646212
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Seuss Studios
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor
Having surveyed worms, spiders, flies, and head lice, Gravel continues her Disgusting Critters series with a quick hop through toad fact and fancy.
The facts are briefly presented in a hand-lettered–style typeface frequently interrupted by visually emphatic interjections (“TOXIN,” “PREY,” “EWWW!”). These are, as usual, paired to simply drawn cartoons with comments and punch lines in dialogue balloons. After casting glances at the common South American ancestor of frogs and toads, and at such exotic species as the Emei mustache toad (“Hey ladies!”), Gravel focuses on the common toad, Bufo bufo. Using feminine pronouns throughout, she describes diet and egg-laying, defense mechanisms, “warts,” development from tadpole to adult, and of course how toads shed and eat their skins. Noting that global warming and habitat destruction have rendered some species endangered or extinct, she closes with a plea and, harking back to those South American origins, an image of an outsized toad, arm in arm with a dark-skinned lad (in a track suit), waving goodbye: “Hasta la vista!”
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor . (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77049-667-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
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