Bunny lovers will ask for repeat reads of this gentle bedtime tale.
A girl and Moon Rabbit embark on a quiet, nighttime adventure.
Luna doesn’t think Moon Rabbit actually exists, and yet curiosity brings her to the windowsill, where she dozes off while waiting. When she wakes, the white rabbit is there, larger than life. Together they chase fireflies, play in a dandelion field, and wish upon stars. Upon her falling asleep, Moon Rabbit carries Luna safely home before leaping across the night sky back to his place in the moon. Influenced by the Japanese folktale “Tsuki no Usagi,” debut author/illustrator Whitcher also references Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as the young girl chases the white rabbit through a magical land. Interesting tableaux unfold; they are done in a flat perspective, perhaps in an effort to mirror a Hokusai print. As the tale goes on, the character renderings and compositions become stronger as the little Japanese girl travels through ethereal landscapes. The tiny bunny ears of her headband, her bunny slippers, and a profusion of bunny-themed decorations in her bedroom are among the artwork’s many charming details.
Bunny lovers will ask for repeat reads of this gentle bedtime tale. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-9122-3325-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Salariya
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2018
Team Becker and Denton has again succeeded in creating a book that keeps the attention of young readers and makes them smile.
In a series of scenes both silly and gently humorous, the ever persistent Mouse works hard to persuade gruff-but-lovable bear to become a library user.
“One morning, Bear heard a tap-tap-tapping on his door.” Readers already familiar with the series will recognize this inviting opener, as well as the arrival of Mouse, always “small and gray and bright-eyed.” The use of this familiar introduction works well for beginning readers, who then learn that this time, Bear’s trademark conservatism makes him balk at the idea of visiting a library. After all, he is sure that “he had all the books he would ever need.” Children will love the arbitrary nature of his collection of seven titles: kings and queens, honeybees and “one about pickles.” When Bear has finally been persuaded to go to the library—holding Mouse in a basket as he races there strapped into red roller skates—he continues to be cantankerous in the stacks. The librarian—the solitary human among assorted critters—plays a part in Bear’s latest behavior modification. Although modern libraries are seldom anymore the silent sanctuaries seen within this stately edifice, excellent text and layout combine with friendly illustrations to set the newest generation of readers laughing at the well-worn joke of someone bellowing for quiet in the library.
Team Becker and Denton has again succeeded in creating a book that keeps the attention of young readers and makes them smile. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 22, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7636-4924-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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