The Master and the students from Dojo Daycare (2014) and Dojo Daytrip (2015) return for their third adventure.
Master, enjoying a snooze, wakes to strange noises and screams, “AAAH!”—over and over again, as the noises keep coming. Observant readers will, of course, see the reasons for the noises. The young students (a racially diverse bunch judging by swatches of skin and tufts of hair protruding from their ninja masks) are staging a surprise birthday party complete with hats, cake, and noisemakers. Told in rhyming verse, the story is amusing and pleasurable to read aloud. Children will enjoy seeing Master, the dojo's nominal adult, so very thrown by the secretive antics of his charges. Flat, digital figures cavort against white backdrops, brightly colored party paraphernalia and toys contrasting with the ninjas' black suits (even the Master's teddy bear sports one). The Master’s face is solid yellow and features a drooping, mouth-framing mustache that may bring Fu Manchu to mind; this visual association with an old racial stereotype is an unfortunate one.
Look elsewhere for ninja fun—perhaps to Arree Chung’s Ninja and its sequel, Ninja! Attack of the Clan (2014, 2016). (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77147-143-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
Categories: CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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Friends don’t let friends expire in snowdrifts.
Convoluted storytelling and confusing art turn a cute premise into a mishmash of a book. Scooper’s a front loader that works in the town salt yard, replenishing the snowplows that arrive. Dumper’s her best friend, more than happy to plow and salt the roads himself. When the big city calls in Dumper to help with a snow squall, he brushes off Scooper’s concerns. Yet slippery roads and a seven-vehicle pileup launch poor Dumper onto his side in a snowbank. Can Scooper overcome fears that she’s too slow and save the day? Following a plot as succinct as this should be a breeze, but the rhyming text obfuscates more than it clarifies. Lines such as, “Dumper’s here— / let’s rock ’n’ roll! / Big city’s callin’ for / some small-town soul” can prove impenetrable. The art of the book matches this confusion, with light-blue Dumper often hard to pick out among other, similarly colored vehicles, particularly in the snowstorm. Speech bubbles, as when the city calls for Scooper’s and Dumper’s help, lead to a great deal of visual confusion. Scooper is also featured sporting long eyelashes and a bow, lest anyone mistake the dithering, frightened truck as anything but female. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 16.8% of actual size.)
Who ya gonna call? A different snowplow book. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5420-9268-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Two Lions
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION
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