Who knows if the TV-news format can stay fresh much longer, but the bears are sweetly rendered, and the chaos that unfolds...
Escaped bears return to mix it up among humans, but this time it's to save their cub as they all become media celebrities in a lively parody of TV news.
The friendly, smarter-than-the-average bears from Biedrzycki's Bear Alert (2014) get more media exposure when their little one climbs into a truck full of teddy bears and ends up at a carnival. The bombastic crew from Channel 3 News chases the story as it unfolds, complete with glossy graphics, man-on-the-street interviews, and a running news crawl ("WITNESSES SAY BEARS LOOK STRANGELY FAMILIAR"). In a neat conceit, all the book's text is in these crawlers or in speech bubbles spoken by the Channel 3 talking heads. The gimmick works, though young readers may not be as up-to-speed on the visual language of 24-hour TV news as their parents. Good thing the verbal handoffs from reporters to anchors move the story along briskly and the gorgeous illustrations are of a quality that calls to mind big-budget 3-D–animated films. That means highly detailed backgrounds packed with visual jokes (a father misses the bear drama because he's staring at his smartphone while on the Ferris wheel) and carnivalgoing characters who are refreshingly diverse and keenly imagined.
Who knows if the TV-news format can stay fresh much longer, but the bears are sweetly rendered, and the chaos that unfolds around them entertains even without the frame . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-58089-624-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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