Mixing the melodies of hip-hop with the antics of preadolescence makes this colorful picture book a charming read for young...
In this character debut from U.K. rapper Doc Brown (writing as Smith), readers meet the scrappy, edgy Bear, who moves about the day with slick rhymes and even slicker pranks.
The book could be described as a meeting between the venerable goofiness of Yogi Bear and the encircling kitsch of the early 2000s Hip Hop Harry. Readers first see a bare, pink-skinned Bear who dons a purple suit and assumes a B-Boy stance. The narration reads like an early, toddler-friendly, playful version of hip-hop: “In my tummy? / Mostly honey. // Here’s a thingy / I find funny….” In the accompanying illustrations, Bear is pictured eating honeycomb in a beekeeper’s veil, muzzle and paws a sticky mess, then pointing up at leafy branches before playing a knock-knock joke on a red squirrel. (Well, Bear finds it funny, anyway.) Later on, Bear uses a wand to catch salmon and does a disappearing act, boasting, “I do magic. / Most bears won’t. // Now you see me… // Now you don’t!” A later prank finds Bear stealing doughnuts from a police officer (an ode to Yogi, maybe), mischievously setting up the red squirrel for the fall. All the while, graffiti artist Akyüz depicts the squirrel and an oft-ducking-from-trouble hare as sidekicks, friendly, thick outlines and saturated colors keeping time with the beat.
Mixing the melodies of hip-hop with the antics of preadolescence makes this colorful picture book a charming read for young rap fans and beginning readers. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7743-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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