This visually appealing tale gently relates the colorful life story of a monarch butterfly.
A monarch butterfly makes frequent stops to quench her thirst on her migratory journey southward.
In what is clearly an homage to Eric Carle’s iconic children’s classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar, this charming debut picture book follows a monarch butterfly. She emerges on a green leaf and stretches her orange wings “in the warmth of an autumn sun,” preparing to make her 2,000-mile journey to Mexico. Through the pages that follow, the thirsty butterfly finds the energy she needs by sipping from flowers along the way and from a glass of fruit juice at a farmer’s stall before joining other monarchs as she “soared and surfed the warm air currents south” to reach her destination. The butterfly finds a mate, heads north, and lays her eggs on milkweed leaves. The acknowledgment of the completion of the monarch’s life cycle is soothingly stated: “Her work was done, her energy spent. Away she flew, life would begin anew!” Visual aspects of Grimbeek’s book are in the Carle vein: Large font black text is set against pages bright with painted collage art that is well positioned against white space. A golden sun, green leaves, and individual flowers—lavender, primroses, honeysuckle, a daisy, a pansy, and more—are vividly depicted, reflecting the warmth that infuses the text. The author/illustrator bookends the story with a labeled image showing the anatomy of a monarch and a list of facts about these butterflies.
This visually appealing tale gently relates the colorful life story of a monarch butterfly.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Bearhead Books
Review Posted Online: May 6, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The greeting-card art and jokey rhymes work for the baby-shower market but not for the youngest readers.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring through rhymed puns and sentimental art.
The title sets the scene for what’s to come: The owl asks the owlet as they fly together, “WHOO loves you?”; the kangaroo and joey make each other “very HOPPY”; and the lioness and cub are a “PURRRFECT pair.” Most of the puns are both unimaginative and groanworthy, and they are likely to go over the heads of toddlers, who are not know for their wordplay abilities. The text is set in abcb quatrains split over two double-page spreads. On each spread, one couplet appears on the verso within a lightly decorated border on pastel pages. On the recto, a full-bleed portrait of the animal and baby appears in softly colored and cozy images. Hearts are prominent on every page, floating between the parent and baby as if it is necessary to show the love between each pair. Although these critters are depicted in mistily conceived natural habitats and are unclothed, they are human stand-ins through and through.
The greeting-card art and jokey rhymes work for the baby-shower market but not for the youngest readers. (Board book. 6 mos-2)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-1374-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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