Song lyrics don’t always make great children’s books, and that’s the case here, but the pictures are so poignant that...
Walker illustrates the 1970 Dylan tune with an adorable parent-child canine pair.
Using minimal backgrounds and props to keep the focus on the relationship, Walker masterfully conveys emotions in his acrylic illustrations. Over three pages, the text reads, “If not for you // Babe, I couldn’t find the door / Couldn’t even see the floor / I’d be sad and blue / If not for you,” while the pictures show a game of hide-and-seek, the parent with paws over eyes, then seeking, and finally joyously finding the pup. Indeed, the parent’s life would not be the same without the little one’s exuberance: waking the older dog up with a trumpet, jumping in rain puddles, catching butterflies, watching the clouds and birds in the sky, and taking imaginary journeys together. And as if those weren’t enough, the final two spreads spell it out: the parent sits forlornly on one swing, the adjacent one empty. A turn of the page reveals parent and child gleefully sailing through the air together with the titular phrase underneath. But while this refrain lends itself very well to the parent-loves-child-so-much genre, the rest of the song’s lyrics don’t always. For instance, “Babe” is not usually an address used with a child.
Song lyrics don’t always make great children’s books, and that’s the case here, but the pictures are so poignant that parents could make up their own words and turn this into something greater than it is. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4516-4881-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
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
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