The very young may enjoy this once, but it is no comparison to the likes of The Snowy Day.
In their second outing, Little Bea and her friends pack as much fun into a winter’s day as they can possibly manage (Little Bea, 2011).
A game of hide-and-seek starts the day off until everyone is found: Bea, Bear, Rabbit, Owl, Beaver, Deer, Goose, Mouse and Ducks. Observant readers may be able to find those hiding by their tracks in the snow. From there, it’s off to make snow angels, catch snowflakes on their tongues, go sliding, have a snowball fight and ice skate. After a hot-chocolate break, it’s time to make a new friend—a snow bear they all help craft. Short sentences with easy vocabulary and onomatopoeic words make this accessible to the very young, but the sentences are choppy, and the pages don’t flow easily. Roode’s art features bright colors against a bluish-white winter landscape. While cute, the stylized animals lack personalities. Rendered digitally, the outlines are straight, stiff and crisp, with little sense of the soft fluff that is real snow.
The very young may enjoy this once, but it is no comparison to the likes of The Snowy Day. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-199395-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In this sweet story, scary things may remain scary, but pushing past them yields enormous rewards.
Doerrfeld expands her repertoire of stories featuring social and emotional learning with a tale of baby turtles and enormous waves.
After Nellie hatches alongside her many siblings, she’s overwhelmed to see how far they’ll have to travel to reach the ocean. Once they make it, the others dive happily into the surf, but Nellie takes one look at the pounding, terrifying waves and heads in the other direction. Each time Nellie thinks she has the situation under control (she tries to hide, run away, and rely on someone bigger and stronger), something comes along to change her mind. Scaling the nearby cliffs, she finds herself alone and lonely, but from her high vantage point, she realizes that the waves may be daunting, but there’s more to the ocean than she initially thought; in fact, it’s beautiful. Few young readers will blame Nellie for wanting to escape, and whether or not they pick up on the obvious messaging is less important than Nellie’s own personal journey. Her attempts to avoid her troubles carry hints of beloved titles such as Ashley Spires’ The Most Magnificent Thing (2014). The adorable, thick-lined digital art featuring a beguilingly expressive, large-headed, big-eyed, tiny turtle makes adept use of perspective, driving home the lesson.
In this sweet story, scary things may remain scary, but pushing past them yields enormous rewards. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780593856291
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
This sweet story of first-time pet ownership is sure to appeal to young animal lovers of all kinds and especially to feline...
McQuinn and Beardshaw’s (Leo Can Swim, 2016, etc.) adorable, black preschool heroine, Lola, is back for another turn.
Lola loves cats, as is evident by her bedroom full of plush cat dolls and feline artwork, but what Lola desires most of all is a real-life cat to call her own. Mommy is hesitant, warning that “looking after a cat is a lot of work,” but when Lola proves she is up to the task, Mommy relents and accompanies Lola to the animal shelter to select a kitten to rescue. “Before Lola can decide, one little cat chooses her!” Many readers will surely appreciate the plotline of shelter-animal pet adoption. Once their home is prepared, Lola and Mommy bring the kitten home, where Lola dubs her Makeda after “an African queen.” Throughout, Beardshaw’s signature bright acrylic illustrations with soft edges pop with youthful exuberance. Details such as Lola’s simple care chart may even serve as inspiration for other young aspiring pet owners. The simple text makes this a suitable story for sharing one-on-one or in a small group or for beginning readers to pursue independently.
This sweet story of first-time pet ownership is sure to appeal to young animal lovers of all kinds and especially to feline fanciers. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-58089-736-5
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
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