May inspire some bathroom fun among readers; get those sponges ready….
When the family’s away, the toiletries play in this follow-up to Kitchen Disco (2017).
“When you kids go off to school, / And grown-ups go to work… / Your bathroom comes ALIVE / and all the things there go berserk!” The antics of various articles are depicted in ultrabright colors and tight rhymes. Shampoo plays “funky beats,” then “rinses and repeats.” The toothpaste “wriggles” and “squeezes,” the loofahs “dance like they don’t care,” and the mouthwash has “minty moves” all his own. Inevitably, the party gets a bit out of hand. The bathroom is a mess, and the family will be home soon. Shampoo organizes the cleanup. “And don’t forget the foam!” The two kids in the family notice that some bathroom articles have moved…and wonder. Party on! Foges’ punny text keeps a steady beat, but it is repetitive, missing an opportunity to present more vocabulary. Murphy makes each page a riot of shapes and colors. The various bathroom items have googly eyes, smiling mouths, and pipestem arms and legs, displaying a remarkable amount of personality. Readers can (and should) access the “Bathroom Boogie” video on YouTube, where a plummy British voice (kind of) raps the verse and children join him to sing the chorus. Notably, the family is biracial; the kids’ mom is white and the dad is black.
May inspire some bathroom fun among readers; get those sponges ready…. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: May 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-5713-4045-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Good piratical fun.
A pirate rat and his fearless crew sail the seas—until a “monster” ends the voyage.
The captain of the pirate ship and his fellow travelers, a squirrel and cat, go sailing, conquering everything and fearing almost nothing. The bold shipmates pogo-stick across the heads of toothy crocodiles, dance merrily in the scary dead of night, and blow raspberries at a shark eyeing them hungrily, all ready for his meal, bib on and fork and knife in hand. And just as children would have it, there are no rules on the ship, and the merry trio eat and drink (without cleaning up, of course), bungee jump from the ship’s tall mast and paint the walls with reckless abandon. But then a giant, hairy foot appears, and trembling with fear, the pirates end their escapades. Through the ship’s portholes, readers see glimpses of the “BIG. Scary. VERY hairy” beast. As the monster’s paws pluck the cat and squirrel from the sea, the rat waves a tearful goodbye. Who is this fearsome beast? It’s the rat pirate’s mother, holding out a fuzzy towel for her little rat, who smiles back at her from the tub. And the cat and squirrel—tub toys—have been placed on the floor to dry. Adorable, mixed-media illustrations with lots of humorous touches will coax any little landlubber to the sea—er, bathtub.
Good piratical fun. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58925-143-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
Just the ticket for young punkers who sneer at counting, say, sheep.
A round dozen punk rockers assemble with friends for a dance party. Count along, and check out the stylish ’dos and duds!
Promoting numeracy and joie de vivre in equal measure, “John & Jana” one by one gather up Noriko, Kevin, Viv and other delighted friends—all sporting outlandishly shaped and colored hair over a wild array of fashions new and old. They hang out together, play music (“They love to be very loud”), make some posters, down a few pizzas, then at last get up on stage to “stomp / and bounce / and yell and make noise” with their friends. Painted in a flat, postmodern Maira Kalman style, the illustrations feature an unusually diverse urban cast that includes the occasional robot or green-skinned monster along with a street giraffe and other atypical residents. Aside from one discreet heart, there are no tattoos or piercings to be seen, and the text and typography are too staid to capture the music’s volume. Still, the dancers and musicians fling their limbs with evocative abandon, and the smiles remain even as, weary and nodding off in the wee hours, all make their way to bed.
Just the ticket for young punkers who sneer at counting, say, sheep. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: July 23, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-933149-67-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Manic D Press
Review Posted Online: May 21, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
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