PLB 0-7358-1070-2 A very minimal imaginative effort starring Little Bunny, identified as an only child (although there are no parents commented upon or seen) who is feeling a bit lonely as he tries to go to sleep. He hops off to Squirrel’s house; Squirrel readily invites him in, but proves to be a midnight snacker who makes too much noise with his acorns. Little Bunny tries Skunk’s house, but there is a minor accident of the aromatic kind, so Little Bunny moves on. At Porcupine’s a few errant quills send him packing; at Bear’s, the snoring can be registered on the Richter scale; at Owl’s, lights burn into the night as Owl feeds his keen intelligence. Owl’s words of wisdom: “Just go back home where you belong.” Little Bunny does, and falls asleep. Readers probably already know that there is no place like home, but the other messages—that friends are a bother, that it’s better to be lonely, that individual quirks cannot be accommodated—will be new. Gorbachev’s illustrations are great, colorful scene-setting tableaux, owing more than a nod to Richard Scarry. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-7358-1069-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1999
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The gastronomical oddity of eating winged and many-legged creatures is fleetingly examined in a superficial text that looks at animals and people who eat insects. Bugs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner are gobbled up by a shrew, an aardvark, a bear, a gecko, and others. The rhyme scheme limits the information presented; specificity about the types of insects eaten is sacrificed for the sake of making the rhyme flow, e.g., a mouse, a trout, a praying mantis, a nuthatch, and a bat are repeatedly said to eat “bugs” or “insects” in general, rather than naming the mayflies, moths, or grubs they enjoy. An author’s note explains her choice of the word bugs for all crawly things; an addendum takes care of other particulars lacking in the text. Long’s exacting pen-and-ink style lends a naturalistic perfection to this visual playground of the insect world, enhancing this glimpse of vital link in the food chain. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-88106-271-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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As she lovingly details the comfortable disarray of a perfectly splendid staircase, a small mouse counts off the stairs in a game she has clearly played many times. The rhyme skips and leaps from “First step. Rain step,” because that’s where her puddle boots are, to the third step, where the window seat is, to the sixth, where she can peer into her own bedroom, to the eleventh where the night light lives, and the twelfth where she can go back down and start again. She’s accompanied by her little sister and readers catch a glimpse at the end of a mother, father, and baby, too. The details are whimsical, and the rhyme infectious. A real treat, perfectly centered on a small child’s perceptions and experience. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 1-886910-34-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS
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