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THERE WAS AN OLD SAILOR

Name: THERE WAS AN OLD SAILOR
Author: Claire Saxby
ISBN: 978-1-77138-022-5

by Claire Saxby ; illustrated by Cassandra Allen ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2014

An aptly silly narrative and offbeat illustrations make this a successful new spin on an old classic

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With its catchy cumulative cadence, this nautically themed remake of the classic children’s rhyme about that old woman who swallowed a fly is a natural for reading aloud.

The old sailor swallows a krill and then swallows a jelly to eat the krill, and he works his way up, with mounting absurdity, to the final swallow—a whale. The illustrations are adeptly rendered in gouache and pencil; the round modeling of the sailor juxtaposed against the flat, stylized sea is particularly effective. With each spacious double-page spread, the pictures show the sailor’s determination—at once farcical and disconcerting—to swallow the darn creatures. Depending on what strikes readers as funny, the illustrations may either delight or cause queasiness—or both. By the end, the sailor burps everything up, and they all continue on their merry ways. The final spread depicts the sea creatures previously swallowed in the story and gives a sentence or two of child-friendly factual information on each. Though this type of backmatter is a common-enough feature in picture books, here following farce with fact feels a little odd and may serve to deflate the fun rather than enhance it.

An aptly silly narrative and offbeat illustrations make this a successful new spin on an old classic . (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 1, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-77138-022-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Kids Can

Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S POETRY

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PIGS CAN'T LOOK UP

by Vincent D’Onofrio ; illustrated by Shelly Cunningham ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 16, 2023

A tender tale with a reminder to look up and all around us.

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A whimsical yet poignant tweet by actor D’Onofrio that went viral in 2019 is the basis for this picture book.

Fact: Pigs can’t look up at the sky. Their neck muscles and spines are built such that their head movements are limited, though they can look up to an extent—e.g., if their heads are tilted. This reality lies at the heart of this minimally worded book in which a brown-skinned girl rigs up a contraption to lift her beloved pet pig, enabling it to see the stars. Girl and pig even become constellations. The girl declares she wants to be treated “that kindly and see the stars for the first time.” We get a sense she means more than literally viewing stars. This is confirmed by the author’s note, in which D’Onofrio talks about “small acts of kindness” and acknowledges people who helped him “broaden my narrow view of what I might be capable of.” He asks: “How do we look beyond ourselves? This girl and this pig only had to look up.” What he and this gentle, thought-provoking book suggest is that we become “stars” if we look around us and notice others who might need us. Adults sharing this book should solicit such ideas from children—as well as additional ways to get pigs to look up. Cunningham’s delicate illustrations are moving and lovely. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A tender tale with a reminder to look up and all around us. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: May 16, 2023

ISBN: 9781951836757

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Cameron Kids

Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S POETRY | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

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FEAR THE BUNNY

by Richard T. Morris ; illustrated by Priscilla Burris ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 5, 2019

A quirky, fun story that will appeal to young audiences looking for a little bit of scare, with a premise so good it...

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A tiger can’t believe it’s being upstaged in this picture-book riff on William Blake’s famous poem.

A group of zoologically diverse animals huddle around a fire, listening to a porcupine read from a chilling poem: “Bunnies, bunnies, burning bright, / in the forests of the night—.” An incredulous tiger interrupts, saying that the poem is actually about it. But a squirrel matter-of-factly states that “Here, it’s ‘bunnies, bunnies.’ ” The tiger still doesn’t understand why the animals would be so afraid of bunnies but not afraid of tigers and tries to explain why it, an apex predator, is far more threatening. The smaller animals remain unimpressed, calmly telling the tiger that “In this forest, we fear the bunny” and that it should “Hide now, before it’s too late.” An amusing and well-done premise slightly disappoints at the climax, with the tiger streaking away in terror before a horde of headlamp-wearing bunnies, but eager readers never learn what, exactly, the bunnies would do if they caught up. But at the end, a group of tigers joins the other animals in their awestruck reading of the adapted Blake poem, included in full at the end. Cute, fuzzy illustrations contrast nicely with the dark tone and forest background.

A quirky, fun story that will appeal to young audiences looking for a little bit of scare, with a premise so good it overcomes a weak conclusion. (Picture book. 4-7)