A sweet, reassuring tale of feather-flapping fun and friendship.
In Davis’ debut picture book, an upbeat young duck struggles to control her excitement in the lead-up to a singing performance.
Lulu, a pink-cheeked, pink-ribboned yellow duckling, is known for her cheerful, friendly personality…and her involuntary, high-pitched quacking whenever she grows too excited. Lulu’s young friends are helping her prepare for a vocal recital. They include Finley, a light-skinned, blond-haired girl; Maria, a bespectacled Latine girl; and Pierre, a blue-eyed French boy. Lulu loves singing, but she can never complete her song without suffering an attack of the “oopsie duckies.” By joining her on stage, can Lulu’s friends keep her calm enough to make it through her performance? Davis narrates in straightforward, nonrhyming text, allowing the cute story to speak for itself. Lulu is a loveable protagonist, her excitability immediately recognizable in her propensity for “high-feathering” (“high-fiving,” only with wings) her friends. QBN Studios’ digital illustrations capture the crayon textures of early childhood artwork; they are particularly evocative in their depictions of trees and, less tangibly, joyousness. Lulu’s colorful QUACK! QUACK! QUACK!s leap from the page. The hand-painted stage is a true work of art; the children, in contrast, seem a little generic—an impression furthered by such repetitions as the “Hi/Hola/Bonjour” illustrations being identical to those of the subsequent images accompanying “Bye/Adios/Au revoir.” Nonetheless, young readers should delight in Lulu’s quack-happy “preduckament.”
A sweet, reassuring tale of feather-flapping fun and friendship.Pub Date: Dec. 4, 2023
ISBN: 9798987606001
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available.
A ghost learns to appreciate his differences.
The little ghost protagonist of this title is unusual. He’s a quilt, not a lightweight sheet like his parents and friends. He dislikes being different despite his mom’s reassurance that his ancestors also had unconventional appearances. Halloween makes the little ghost happy, though. He decides to watch trick-or-treaters by draping over a porch chair—but lands on a porch rail instead. A mom accompanying her daughter picks him up, wraps him around her chilly daughter, and brings him home with them! The family likes his looks and comforting warmth, and the little ghost immediately feels better about himself. As soon as he’s able to, he flies out through the chimney and muses happily that this adventure happened only due to his being a quilt. This odd but gently told story conveys the importance of self-respect and acceptance of one’s uniqueness. The delivery of this positive message has something of a heavy-handed feel and is rushed besides. It also isn’t entirely logical: The protagonist could have been a different type of covering; a blanket, for instance, might have enjoyed an identical experience. The soft, pleasing illustrations’ palette of tans, grays, white, black, some touches of color, and, occasionally, white text against black backgrounds suggest isolation, such as the ghost feels about himself. Most humans, including the trick-or-treating mom and daughter, have beige skin. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-16.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 66.2% of actual size.)
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7352-6447-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
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