Snappy and exuberant, this rhyming picture book is sure to be a hit in a read-aloud.
A fun-filled and humorous picture book about friendship and sharing.
When the bug on a bike stops by to pick up Lizard Mike, who is baking pies, readers will know they’re in for a silly treat. The bug and Lizard Mike also invite Randy the Toad and scores of others during the course of the story (including carpenter clams in boats, an athletic pickle, a skateboarding bunny and, hilariously, ants on a log) to go on a biking, skateboarding and rolling journey to no-one-but-the-bug knows where. Monroe’s rhyming text builds as she adds various critters to the journey. As entertaining as the text is, however, it is the illustrations that steal the show. Singularly absurd in their renditions (the lizard wears madras shorts, the snake dons a tubular blouse), the menagerie all nonetheless manage to look determined and earnest as they follow the bug on a bike—who himself has the endearing focused look of a toddler just learning to ride a two-wheeler. As the journey continues, tension builds—where the heck are they going? As it turns out, it is to the bug’s birthday party. Further silliness ensues as the author details the cavorting (the clams eat “buckets of nachos,” and the pickle break dances) at the party.
Snappy and exuberant, this rhyming picture book is sure to be a hit in a read-aloud. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4677-2154-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An earnest graduation gift: sweet for lifelong fans, cheerfully encouraging for striving, future graduates.
Success comes at last for the bright-eyed Pigeon.
A clever, tongue-in-cheek ersatz colophon reveals that this graduate has been awarded a “Master of Ornery-thology, Bachelor of Arts of Persuasion with a Minor in Major Freak-outs (summa cum loudly).” Fans will be glad that the Pigeon’s tireless, abundant optimism is finally being ceremoniously recognized. On the cover, the Pigeon wears a mortarboard at a jaunty angle, commenting, “I have the hat!” Of course, dressing the part is essential. But also, “I did the work. I paid attention to the little details. I took some BIG steps.” The Pigeon encountered obstacles (not shown, but many memorable ones will come to mind for the Pigeon's followers). And the Pigeon is plagued by worries familiar to many students who are about to graduate: “WHAT WILL HAPPEN THEN?!? What will I do? Who will I be?” The Pigeon appears in every frame, in close-ups and in poses variously thoughtful, confident, or slightly distressed. Our hero’s simple big eyes and wings are, as ever, remarkably expressive. “Oop!” In one scene, while walking off the dais, diploma in wing, the Pigeon comes to what seems like the edge of a chasm. At last, our hero takes flight with other graduates. Willems' popular characters Gerald and Piggie are there to look on admiringly.
An earnest graduation gift: sweet for lifelong fans, cheerfully encouraging for striving, future graduates. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781454960430
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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