by Chae Strathie ; illustrated by Nicola O'Byrne ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2018
A warm if, mediawise anyway, rather quaint epistolary relationship.
The correspondence begun in Dear Dinosaur (2017) between young Max and his reptilian pal continues as the museum sends a group of dinos on a world tour.
In the exchange of brief notes and letters—all, except one email, handwritten, some on pasted-on folded sheets or postal cards—Rex reports from a jungle, a city, and other generic, unspecified locations. Max responds with dinosaur facts, good wishes, and, when Rex admits to a funny feeling in his tummy that Max diagnoses as homesickness, a plush bunny. Around these missives Strathie fills in the time between each letter’s dispatch and arrival with narrative bits, including conversations between Max and his parents. At the other end, in bright cartoon illustrations, O’Byrne likewise adds snapshots showing the fleshed-out prehistoric peregrinators and their human chaperone engaged in such touristic activities as hanging out at a beach, ice skating in an urban park (amid human skaters of diverse hue), meeting a startled-looking modern lizard, and passing through airport security. At the tour’s end Max rushes into the museum to present his reinstalled friend with a hand-drawn “welcome back” card: “Dinopals Forever! ROOOAAARRR!” Max is biracial, with a brown-skinned dad and white-presenting mom.
A warm if, mediawise anyway, rather quaint epistolary relationship. (Novelty. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4380-5050-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Barron's
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
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More by Chae Strathie
BOOK REVIEW
by Chae Strathie ; illustrated by Nicola O'Byrne
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 4, 2014
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends
Gerald the elephant learns a truth familiar to every preschooler—heck, every human: “Waiting is not easy!”
When Piggie cartwheels up to Gerald announcing that she has a surprise for him, Gerald is less than pleased to learn that the “surprise is a surprise.” Gerald pumps Piggie for information (it’s big, it’s pretty, and they can share it), but Piggie holds fast on this basic principle: Gerald will have to wait. Gerald lets out an almighty “GROAN!” Variations on this basic exchange occur throughout the day; Gerald pleads, Piggie insists they must wait; Gerald groans. As the day turns to twilight (signaled by the backgrounds that darken from mauve to gray to charcoal), Gerald gets grumpy. “WE HAVE WASTED THE WHOLE DAY!…And for WHAT!?” Piggie then gestures up to the Milky Way, which an awed Gerald acknowledges “was worth the wait.” Willems relies even more than usual on the slightest of changes in posture, layout and typography, as two waiting figures can’t help but be pretty static. At one point, Piggie assumes the lotus position, infuriating Gerald. Most amusingly, Gerald’s elephantine groans assume weighty physicality in spread-filling speech bubbles that knock Piggie to the ground. And the spectacular, photo-collaged images of the Milky Way that dwarf the two friends makes it clear that it was indeed worth the wait.
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends . (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-9957-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
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More In The Series
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems
More by Mo Willems
BOOK REVIEW
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems
BOOK REVIEW
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems
BOOK REVIEW
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems
by Cleo Wade ; illustrated by Lucie de Moyencourt ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 23, 2021
Inspiration, shrink wrapped.
From an artist, poet, and Instagram celebrity, a pep talk for all who question where a new road might lead.
Opening by asking readers, “Have you ever wanted to go in a different direction,” the unnamed narrator describes having such a feeling and then witnessing the appearance of a new road “almost as if it were magic.” “Where do you lead?” the narrator asks. The Road’s twice-iterated response—“Be a leader and find out”—bookends a dialogue in which a traveler’s anxieties are answered by platitudes. “What if I fall?” worries the narrator in a stylized, faux hand-lettered type Wade’s Instagram followers will recognize. The Road’s dialogue and the narration are set in a chunky, sans-serif type with no quotation marks, so the one flows into the other confusingly. “Everyone falls at some point, said the Road. / But I will always be there when you land.” Narrator: “What if the world around us is filled with hate?” Road: “Lead it to love.” Narrator: “What if I feel stuck?” Road: “Keep going.” De Moyencourt illustrates this colloquy with luminous scenes of a small, brown-skinned child, face turned away from viewers so all they see is a mop of blond curls. The child steps into an urban mural, walks along a winding country road through broad rural landscapes and scary woods, climbs a rugged metaphorical mountain, then comes to stand at last, Little Prince–like, on a tiny blue and green planet. Wade’s closing claim that her message isn’t meant just for children is likely superfluous…in fact, forget the just.
Inspiration, shrink wrapped. (Picture book. 6-8, adult)Pub Date: March 23, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-26949-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2021
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