From Rylant (In Aunt Lucy’s Kitchen, 1998, etc.), a gentle rhyming book for the very young. Mrs. and Mr. Bunny and their numerous offspring find a charming bungalow in a deep gully near a river and move right in. The bunnies set about making the house a home: painting it a pale green, planting a garden, and installing a carrot weathervane. Soon the interior is cozy too, as Mrs. Bunny knits bunny quilts, moves a comfortable rocker into the parlor, and invites bunnies to snuggle on a big couch while she reads poetry aloud. Mr. Bunny helps with bath time, takes the little bunnies fishing, and finds time to sit on the porch swing with his offspring, watching fireflies. The story ends as softly as it begins, in watercolors that are warm and full of childlike humor. Children will identify with the thumb-sucking middle bunny, the bed-bouncing bunny in striped pajamas, and the baby who tosses his bottle out of the crib for the father to pick up. A fetching bedtime book, as snug as they come. (Fiction. 4-6)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201092-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
Dunbar (Tell Me Something Happy Before I Go to Sleep, 1998, etc.) joins Helme Heine (The Most Wonderful Egg in the World, 1983) and Mary Jane Auch (The Easter Egg Farm, 1992) in serving up with gusto a cast of unusual egg producers. When Dora the duck announces “Tomorrow is Eggday,” Pogson the pig, Humphrey the horse, and Gideon the goat are puzzled as to how they will lay a pig egg, a horse egg, and a goat egg in their respective efforts to win the contest. The instructive Hetty Hen, a true egg-layer, quickly sets them straight, lending her own eggs, which they decorate for the contest. As expected, Dora the duck’s own egg hatches overnight, and she declares a new holiday—Duckling Day. Cabrera transforms the farmyard plot with a pleasingly free-form style and candy-bright colors. Every page bristles with color; brush strokes, dots, blots, and thumbprints create multi-layered scenes that fairly sing. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: March 15, 1999
ISBN: 0-8234-1510-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1999
Sailor Song (32 pp.; $13.00; Mar. 22; 0-395-82511-3): A modest lullaby sung by a mother to her child at bedtime, telling of a fisherman returning home after a long sojourn at sea. His boat doesn’t just sail into harbor; it floats through forests and over fields, climbs stony paths, and soars across the night sky. When the sailor comes through the door, it’s clear he’s returning to the family, evoked from the mists by the mother’s singing. Vitale’s artwork on wood characteristically fuses various styles for images of the little family at home and the seafarer on his journey. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: March 22, 1999
ISBN: 0-395-82511-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1999
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