by Cynthia Lord ; illustrated by Greg Paprocki ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 28, 2015
No doubt fans of the previous titles will appreciate the story of friends cooperating on such an exciting venture, but...
This third early reader in the Hot Rod Hamster series (Hot Rod Hamster and the Wacky Whatever Race, 2014) finds the likable rodent and his crew of pals planning costumes for a big Halloween bash.
Hot Rod Hamster convinces Dog to attend the upcoming Halloween party, but first they must acquire the perfect get-ups in order to win either the “best” or “spookiest costume.” The duo, along with a few enthusiastic mice, searches for the perfect thing to wear. “Ghost fun. Clown fun. Star fun. Crown fun. / Which would you choose?” This familiar phrasing, though utilized in previous Hot Rod titles, is less than effective here in creating a rhythm, since dialogue bubbles are interspersed throughout the text irregularly. When the group settles on dressing up as a rock band, they must come together to write a song to sing, build a stage, and integrate a ghostly choir to add pizzazz to their musical debut. Guess who wins? Unfortunately Paprocki’s illustrations have a mass-produced cartoon quality that do not quite match Derek Anderson’s more painterly style, seen in the picture books in the series.
No doubt fans of the previous titles will appreciate the story of friends cooperating on such an exciting venture, but overall this offering falls a bit flat. (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-81529-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2015
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by Craig Smith ; illustrated by Katz Cowley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2010
Hee haw.
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The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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by Tedd Arnold ; illustrated by Tedd Arnold ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2013
A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity.
Buzz and his buzzy buddy open a spinoff series of nonfiction early readers with an aquarium visit.
Buzz: “Like other fish, sharks breathe through gills.” Fly Guy: “GILLZZ.” Thus do the two pop-eyed cartoon tour guides squire readers past a plethora of cramped but carefully labeled color photos depicting dozens of kinds of sharks in watery settings, along with close-ups of skin, teeth and other anatomical features. In the bite-sized blocks of narrative text, challenging vocabulary words like “carnivores” and “luminescence” come with pronunciation guides and lucid in-context definitions. Despite all the flashes of dentifrice and references to prey and smelling blood in the water, there is no actual gore or chowing down on display. Sharks are “so cool!” proclaims Buzz at last, striding out of the gift shop. “I can’t wait for our next field trip!” (That will be Fly Guy Presents: Space, scheduled for September 2013.)
A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity. (Informational easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-50771-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
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