The well-known fable is economized in a Ready-to-Read edition from Miles (see review, above); the events of the race now take place entirely in dialogue, sometimes in a Dick-and-Jane staccato. Quotation marks and speech bubbles have been abandoned in favor of brief blocks of text placed in proximity to each animal speaker. Once the race begins, it's not long before Hare settles into a nap; a night and a day later, bespectacled, sneaker-wearing Tortoise is still plodding along, slow but steady, coaching himself—``One step, another step. One step and another'' until he takes first place. Meisel's whimsical, uncluttered line drawings fit the format well, bright enough to attract attention and to express action. Larger animal characters sport T-shirts with identifying letters—H for Hare, B for Bear- -while a cheering section of smaller creatures displays banners proclaiming ``Yippee'' and ``Hooray,'' highlighting the tale with humor. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-81792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
A fresh look at a reassuring theme, with unusual and beguiling illustrations. Little Bunny is on the move, “from here to there,” past a cow, a pig, sheep, and the train tracks, through a fence, and past a little girl who wants to make a pet of him. On this journey, Bunny has little time to sleep, for he must go where he must—home, it turns out, where he is surrounded by his family, and where there are carrots. Bunny lives in a beautifully textured and shaded landscape done in a kind of grisaille, like medieval manuscripts painted in shades of grey. Colors, when used, are elusive—the palest green suggests grass, the barest swath of dim orange tints the carrot—and heighten the brilliant use of white for the bunny, sheep, daisies, clouds, and the shadows of the landscape. Toddlers and caregivers alike will be soothed by a child-sized adventure, brought to sweet closure. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8050-4620-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1999
Handsome textured cut-paper collages on white paper show animals of the same species that are vastly different in size. Since each pair is created to scale (1'' = 8''), viewers can make comparisons. A preface explains that various animals grew bigger or smaller over time to adapt to their habitats. Subsequent spreads depict pairs from the same species—one big, one little—while a single line of text, curving around the larger animal, introduces them: ``Both the Nile crocodile and the African chameleon live in tropical Africa.'' Most of the pairs do not inhabit the same habitat: Siamese cats and tigers are not found together, nor are fennec foxes and gray wolves. Animals include the hummingbird and ostrich, sea otter and elephant seal, capybara and deer mouse. Final pages show the animals in silhouette to scale, with a paragraph of information on each. The collages show artistic license: The Siamese cat is charcoal- colored, instead of the more common representation of buff with dark ears and tail; the capybara doesn't appear to have webbed feet; the Virginia opossum looks strangely unlike itself. The main problem is that Jenkins (Looking Down, 1995, etc.) is unclear about his audience: The opening paragraph on evolution is difficult for young readers; the rest of the book does not reinforce that paragraph for older readers and will put them off as little more than a naming or comparison game. (bibliography) (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-395-72664-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1996
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