Anticipating the visit of a favorite person is half the fun. Planning all the things he likes to do, the narrator of this celebration of childhood, includes telling knock-knock jokes, visiting a construction site, picking up lucky pennies, drinking hot chocolate, cooking, eating and cleaning up together, and just having a good time. What the narrator doesn’t like is putting on scratchy dress-up clothes, eating “funny-looking food,” or watching movies that are too “kissy.” Shields (Martian Rock, 1999, etc.) tells the story from the narrator’s point of view and then delivers a punchy surprise ending for this absolutely charming tale of grandfather and grandson. Nakata’s gentle watercolors for her first picture-book illustrations are alive with color, movement, and humor. They support and extend the text with funny little bits that provoke a grin and a chuckle. The love this grandfather and grandchild have for each other fills every page. A good read-aloud selection for the younger crowd and a nice addition to grandparents’ collections of books to share. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-525-46450-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PLB 0-517-70967-8 Me And My Family Tree (32 pp.; $13.00; PLB $14.99; May; 0-517-70966-X; PLB 0-517-70967-8): For children who are naturally curious about the people who care for them (most make inquiries into family relationships at an early age), Sweeney explains, with the assistance of a young narrator, the concept of a family tree. Photographs become understandable once the young girl learns the relationships among family members; she wonders what her own family tree will look like when she marries and has children. A larger message comes at the end of this story: not only does she have a family tree, but so does everyone in the world. Cable’s drawings clearly define the process of creating a family tree; she provides a blank tree so children can start on their own geneaology.(Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-517-70966-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
From Rylant (In Aunt Lucy’s Kitchen, 1998, etc.), a gentle rhyming book for the very young. Mrs. and Mr. Bunny and their numerous offspring find a charming bungalow in a deep gully near a river and move right in. The bunnies set about making the house a home: painting it a pale green, planting a garden, and installing a carrot weathervane. Soon the interior is cozy too, as Mrs. Bunny knits bunny quilts, moves a comfortable rocker into the parlor, and invites bunnies to snuggle on a big couch while she reads poetry aloud. Mr. Bunny helps with bath time, takes the little bunnies fishing, and finds time to sit on the porch swing with his offspring, watching fireflies. The story ends as softly as it begins, in watercolors that are warm and full of childlike humor. Children will identify with the thumb-sucking middle bunny, the bed-bouncing bunny in striped pajamas, and the baby who tosses his bottle out of the crib for the father to pick up. A fetching bedtime book, as snug as they come. (Fiction. 4-6)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201092-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
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