Play—don’t read—this important environmental message.
An oil spill jeopardizes sea life in this environmental songbook.
If the fate of the planet is in children’s hands, reading them books like this one might be a wise idea. New York-based songwriter Lavin and award-winning illustrator Franco Feeney have joined creative forces with the goal of promoting clean energy. Inspired by the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, the book begins with a cracked pipeline and ends with wildlife cleanup efforts—a chronicling best paired with folksy music, as it turns out. Pop in the book’s accompanying CD, and let The Guys & Dolphins All-Starfish Band take it away. Reminiscent of catchy classroom tunes like “The Green Grass Grows All Around,” Lavin’s song relies on repetitive rhythms and layering (“There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea / There’s a pipe in the hole in the bottom of the sea / There’s a crack in the pipe in the hole in the bottom of the sea”). It’s a tried formula but one that works well, with the exception of one or two crowded stanzas: “There’s water heated by the generator by the windmill up on the hill” was clearly intended for speedy-tongued singers and not parents who will stumble and bumble their way through this book if they decide to forego the music. Franco Feeney’s thoughtfully detailed illustrations of oil-slicked sea critters will tug at young readers’ heartstrings, and an educational appendix at the end offers in-depth discussion of renewable energy forms, a DIY craft project, sheet music and a checklist of how to save energy at home. The only thing missing, in fact, is an environmental cleanup team and a life-sized windmill. Ambitious? No doubt. Especially considering that a portion of the book’s net proceeds benefits the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association (NWRA). Kudos to Lavin and Franco Feeney for making this songbook an entertaining—and earth-friendly—investment.
Play—don’t read—this important environmental message. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 14, 2012
ISBN: 978-0972648783
Page Count: -
Publisher: Puddle Jump Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 30, 2011
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.
Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781464268076
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2026
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