by Charles Ghigna ; illustrated by Annie Wilkinson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 9, 2018
The multicultural faces make this a good choice for preschool and early-elementary shelves, especially in settings that...
In the darkness of night, a forest reclaims a concrete city, to the delight of the animals and children.
With vibrant and engaging illustrations, this picture book sings the story of a paved parking lot returning to a paradise teeming with diverse people, plants, and animals. It begins with an illustration of distracted townspeople scurrying across gray streets on a summer evening. The children, full of wide-eyed wonder, notice the wind blowing in something new, represented as a little green dust devil. As the sun sets, bands of birds, bunnies, and beavers rendezvous on the outskirts of town, awaiting their opportunity. With logistical precision, seeds are dropped on rooftops and vacant lots, fountains are flooded, and the moon shines brightly on the saplings. In time-bending speed, the cement city gives way to fully bloomed flowers and tall trees. The morning sun brings a riot of colors and shapes, to the delight of all. Ghigna’s rhythmic and rhyming couplets narrate the miracle with the respect and drama of a professional bard. But the lack of tension and the muted nighttime colors create a gentle story, suitable for a bedtime read-aloud. The inevitability of nature, full of wonder and life, encourages readers to celebrate the greenery in their own surroundings.
The multicultural faces make this a good choice for preschool and early-elementary shelves, especially in settings that prize a connection to nature. (Picture book. 3-10)Pub Date: Oct. 9, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1650-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
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by Karma Wilson ; illustrated by Jane Chapman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 16, 2024
Cheery fun that will leave series fans “egg”-static.
In his latest outing, Bear and his pals go in search of eggs.
Bear “lumbers with his friends through the Strawberry Vale.” Raven finds a nest; climbing up, “The bear finds eggs!”: a refrain that appears throughout. Instead of eating the robin’s eggs, however, Bear leaves a gift of dried berries in the nest for the “soon-to-be-chicks.” Next, the friends find 10 mallard eggs (as bright blue as the robin’s), and Bear leaves sunflower seeds. Then the wail of Mama Meadowlark, whose bright yellow undercarriage strikes a warm golden note, leads them to promise to find her lost eggs. With his friends’ assistance, Bear finds one, and they decide to paint them “so they aren’t lost again.” Another is discovered, painted, and placed in Hare’s basket. After hours of persistent searching, Bear suddenly spots the remaining two eggs “in a small patch of clover.” Before they can return these eggs, the chicks hatch and rejoin their mother. Back at his lair, Bear, with his troupe, is visited by all 17 chicks and the robin, mallard, and meadowlark moms: “And the bear finds friends!” Though this sweet spring tale centers on finding and painting eggs, it makes no overt references to Easter. The soft green and blue acrylics, predictable rhymes, and rolling rhythm make this series installment another low-key natural read-aloud.
Cheery fun that will leave series fans “egg”-static. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781665936552
Page Count: 40
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
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by Craig Smith ; illustrated by Katz Cowley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2010
Hee haw.
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The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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