An entertaining read that may leave young readers confused.
Two puppies experience an unexpected adventure in Tiner’s middle-grade reader.
Bo meets Rico at a pet store after being separated from his mother for the first time. The puppies bond over their loneliness. Their chances of being adopted by a family are thrown into disarray when a pair of thieves breaks into the store and steals them both. Bo and Rico manage to escape but find themselves out on the streets for the first time in their young lives. A junkyard dog named Tank teaches them the ways of the streets. However, after Tank is unexpectedly adopted, Bo and Rico once again find themselves on their own. Months pass before the twosome happen upon Pearl, a pampered poodle who has been mistakenly left behind by her owner, Margaret. The puppies’ new mission is to find Margaret and reunite her with Pearl. Instead of concluding with Bo and Rico finding their own new homes, however, the story ends with the pair returning to the streets and happily reaffirming their friendship for one another. Tiner (Welcome Home, 2011) manages to breathe life into the book’s four main characters; Tank is perhaps the most memorable. The best scene in the book is one when Tank bonds with a firefighter; in that moment, when he “leans into the man’s embrace,” he transitions from Bo and Rico’s street-tough mentor to an average dog that needs a home. Still, the narrative could use tightening. There are moments when Bo seems to be the main character of the story and others when he and Rico seem to share the spotlight. The book is divided into two rather disparate storylines: the puppies’ youth with Tank and the adventure with Pearl. Considering the reading level of the text, the narrative would likely be better served if split apart into smaller, more easily digestible chapter books. Furthermore, the book’s theme of friendship as being more important than anything else is contradicted by the importance the narrative places on Tank finding a home and Pearl being reunited with her owner. The reader is led to believe that Bo and Rico’s story will conclude similarly, but it does not.
An entertaining read that may leave young readers confused.Pub Date: May 12, 2012
ISBN: 978-1477435717
Page Count: 162
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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BOOK REVIEW
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