A pleasant ride, dissonance between the actual and described setting notwithstanding.
In an elemental bit of grouping and number play, Joe the bus driver picks up and drops off animal passengers on his route.
By switching narrators, Byron passes up the chance for a neat segue from My Car (2001), which ends with motorist Sam leaving his car to drive off in a bus. Still, he has a lot of fun even with a different narrator. One dog, two cats, three more cats and finally four dogs board in succession, then depart in mixed groups of three for further trips in a train, a boat and a plane (the last dog goes home with Joe). The very simple illustrations are done in Barton’s characteristic style, in opaque, mostly primary colors with minimal detailing. Even very young children will have no trouble seeing and counting the passengers as they come and go—though more reflective viewers may be confused by Joe’s claim that “I drive my bus to town,” as all of the scenes show only rolling green hills with widely separated houses. In what can be read as a deft bit of humor, the cats and dogs sit peaceably (if on opposite sides of the bus) and, like commuters everywhere, stare glassily off into the distance rather than make eye contact with one another.
A pleasant ride, dissonance between the actual and described setting notwithstanding. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: April 15, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-06-228736-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2014
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.
You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!
What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery.
A troop of cats traverse a spooky landscape as they make their way to a party hosted by ghosts.
Each double-page spread shows the felines’ encounters with the likes of an owl, jack-o’-lanterns or a bat. One or two of these creepy meetings may be too abstract for the youngest readers, as the cats hear eerie noises with no discernible source on the page. The text, which consists of one rhyming couplet per scene, mostly scans despite a couple of wobbles: “Five black cats get a bit of a scare / As the flip-flapping wings of a bat fill the air.” The sleek, slightly retro art, likely created using a computer, depicts the cats cavorting at night through a shadowy cityscape, the countryside and a haunted house; they may scare some toddlers and delight others. A brighter color palette would have given the project a friendlier, more universal appeal. Luckily, the well-lit, final party scene provides a playful conclusion.
For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58925-611-8
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
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