A boisterous bunny has her first gymnastics class in this debut picture book from author-illustrator Thompson.
Tilley Tumble is the “busiest, bounciest and bendiest little bunny in Barley Burrow.” Although her mother is dismayed by her constant activity—and the messes that she leaves in her wake—Tilley practices her gymnastics constantly, and when a new gym opens, she’s excited to try it out. She meets Miss Hoppa, the coach, who promises her that her ears are not too big, that her feet are just right, and that if she’s too scared to jump into the foam pit, she can just try it later. Tilley’s worries will feel authentic to youngsters trying new physical activities, and Miss Hoppa’s encouragement will effectively soothe those concerns. The digital illustrations—filled with pink and purple hues, even on tree leaves—combine human and bunny body mechanics to create believable, identifiable gymnastics poses. (Young gymnasts may be alternately envious of Tilley’s ears and glad that they don’t have to deal with them.) Thompson’s excellent, sporadic alliteration makes the prose fun to read aloud, and only a few complicated terms (“arabesque,” “cartwheeled”) may trip up newly independent readers.
An encouraging tale of a much-loved physical activity with a charming protagonist.Pub Date: July 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-916468-03-0
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Aireborough Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 24, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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With a little help from his audience, a young storyteller gets over a solid case of writer’s block in this engaging debut.
Despite the (sometimes creatively spelled) examples produced by all his classmates and the teacher’s assertion that “Stories are everywhere!” Ralph can’t get past putting his name at the top of his paper. One day, lying under the desk in despair, he remembers finding an inchworm in the park. That’s all he has, though, until his classmates’ questions—“Did it feel squishy?” “Did your mom let you keep it?” “Did you name it?”—open the floodgates for a rousing yarn featuring an interloping toddler, a broad comic turn and a dramatic rescue. Hanlon illustrates the episode with childlike scenes done in transparent colors, featuring friendly-looking children with big smiles and widely spaced button eyes. The narrative text is printed in standard type, but the children’s dialogue is rendered in hand-lettered printing within speech balloons. The episode is enhanced with a page of elementary writing tips and the tantalizing titles of his many subsequent stories (“When I Ate Too Much Spaghetti,” “The Scariest Hamster,” “When the Librarian Yelled Really Loud at Me,” etc.) on the back endpapers.
An engaging mix of gentle behavior modeling and inventive story ideas that may well provide just the push needed to get some budding young writers off and running. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2012
ISBN: 978-0761461807
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Amazon Children's Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 22, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2012
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This companion piece to the other fairy tales Marcia Brown has interpreted (see Puss In Boots, 1952, p. 548 and others) has the smoothness of a good translation and a unique charm to her feathery light pictures. The pictures have been done in sunset colors and the spreads on each page as they illustrate the story have the cumulative effect of soft cloud banks. Gentle.
Pub Date: June 15, 1954
ISBN: 0684126761
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1954
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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