An easy reader that may be used as fodder for group discussion.
Henney (Princess Trinka and Basil, 2015, etc.) returns to the forest with a quaint story of two feathered friends who discover there’s no place like home.
Two bird friends—a naughty blue jay and an industrious woodpecker—live in an aviary but want to be out in the free, wild world. This gentle story has a predictable plot, as the two birds escape, have a couple of misadventures with unfriendly birds and scary human noises, and then long for the safety and comforts of home. This modest tale can be read by children 6 and older, and it’s accompanied by cute black-and-white drawings, such as of the wide-eyed birds as they cry fat tears of joy after returning home. The book’s tone is soft and the text sometimes directly addresses readers; for example, Woodpecker, alone and frightened in the forest, hears loud, human noises, and the narrator asks, “Do you suppose it was some children with BB guns shooting at the birds and little animals? Maybe they did not realize that the forest was home to so many different birds and animals.” When Bluejay and Woodpecker plot their escape from the aviary, the book’s style is reminiscent of a Highlights magazine hidden-pictures puzzle as the narrator asks readers if they can find the blue jay. (He’s relatively easy to find.) There are also humorous moments, such as when the blue jay earns the nickname “Naughty” from humans, after doing things like swooping down and raking his claws through an aviary helper’s hair. Some of the wild animals are aggressive, but others are likable, such as an owl who stands at the entrance of the woodpecker’s tree hole and turns out to be a friendly sort. Children and parents may question why two common birds like a blue jay and a woodpecker are being confined in the first place, but this story could effectively complement a study of conservation, captivity, and animals in the wild. It could also be used in a lesson on how the grass always seems greener on the other side.
An easy reader that may be used as fodder for group discussion.Pub Date: June 23, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5030-2228-7
Page Count: 44
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Aug. 18, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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