The story looks beautiful, but the depths of the issue are never plumbed.
A mouse disturbs a monkey’s tranquility but soon turns from irksome to indispensable in Alexander’s tale of friendship’s often strange course.
First, however, the artwork: a lovely combination of media creates landscapes and companionable characters in a broad range of sunny (if not particularly jungly) pastels. The story: Monkey lives alone in the jungle (“he liked it that way”), munching on bananas, reading in the crook of a tree limb, swimming in the cool, cool water of the lake. Little One (a mouse) appears, unbidden and unwanted. Monkey politely asks him to scram. Mouse is not conversant with “monkey-speak,” so he blithely settles in under Monkey’s hammock. Little One follows Monkey everywhere, innocently mimicking him (except for the bananas: “Yuck!”) and holding out peace offering after peace offering. Finally, Monkey erupts: “Leave me alone!”; and Little One does. Monkey finds himself discomfited. It’s not remorse or loneliness but something ineffable: “somehow it didn’t feel the same as before.” Monkey goes in search of Little One and welcomes him back. “The Little One still followed Monkey everywhere...but somehow Monkey didn’t mind anymore.” Somehow—but what changed Monkey’s mind? Sharing company can be a complicated, contradictory, confusing (dis)pleasure, but “somehow” doesn’t pass muster. There is nothing here for young readers to hang their hats on, no takeaway.
The story looks beautiful, but the depths of the issue are never plumbed. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4549-1580-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2015
A nursery charmer.
A pink-cheeked version of a song most everyone knows, with new verses highlighting cozy animal dyads across the world.
The bright yellow and red owlet with its parent opens the lullaby with the verse we all know. Next a papa deer and fawn in the forest, a whale and calf in the sea, a kangaroo and joey in the outback, vulture and chick and so on, each filling a two-page spread. The verse mirrors the pictures: “Glisten, glisten, little star, / how I wonder what you are. / Up above the grassy plain …” shows a papa lion and cub, and on the next spread—“…through the warm, wet jungle rain”—a pair of rosy-cheeked monkeys. The five-pointed, butter-gold star is prominently visible on every spread. Color and line are thick and bold, while all of the animals, from polar bears to pussy cats, have button eyes and the suggestion of human smiles. The final verse (“Twinkle over towns and trees, / fields and farms, / Lakes and seas”) shows just such a vista, with lollipop trees, a building-block city and a little red lighthouse. The concluding spread, “Twinkle, twinkle, up above … // … for me and for / the one I love” pictures that bright star on one page facing a golden-haired mother and child. The music for this venerable tune is on the back endpaper.
A nursery charmer. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2519-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Young listeners of all stripes (and species) will enjoy this warmhearted celebration of literacy and imagination.
An enthusiastic reader teaches his two cats to appreciate books, though it takes extra effort to interest one of them in the endeavor.
Nick is a round-headed, early-elementary-sized, brown-skinned child with a fluff of curly hair and two cats, Verne and Stevenson. All three enjoy frolicking together, but when Nick wants to read, one cat ignores him, and the other sprawls on the volume open in his lap (a habit that will be familiar to cat lovers of all ages). The latter, Verne, a small cat with orange-and-brown stripes and a cheerful disposition, is amenable to Nick’s instruction. “But not Stevenson,” who frowns, runs away, and even hisses. When Nick and Verne discover Stevenson’s fascination with pirates, however, they have the hook they need. Nick’s efforts are both logical and methodical, and once he has achieved his goal, he and his feline friends find ways to incorporate their favorite stories into all kinds of imaginative play. Manley’s conversational text flows smoothly and has a matter-of-fact tone that grounds the fantastical elements. Berube’s charmingly childlike art, created in ink, Flashe paint, and acrylic paint, captures the cats’ personalities perfectly and creates a cozy, everyday world with just enough amusing details to reward repeat readings.
Young listeners of all stripes (and species) will enjoy this warmhearted celebration of literacy and imagination. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-3569-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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