by David Bowie ; illustrated by Hannah Marks ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 7, 2020
It’s wonderfully inclusive, but only Bowie’s biggest fans may feel like dancing.
Dancers of various ages, races, abilities, and species groove to the abridged lyrics of iconic rocker Bowie’s titular 1983 hit.
“Let’s dance,” the author invites. And dance Marks’ joyful, cartoony figures do. A child and older adult jive to “the song they’re playin’ on” an old-fashioned radio; another child “sway[s] through” a playground crowd “to an empty space.” A dog and cat join paws/hands with a child in a hijab. Under “this serious moonlight,” a couple and a cat float in spacesuits. Two kids dance in manual wheelchairs; one is an amputee. After omitting much of the last verse, the ending urges, “Let’s dance, / DANCE, / DANCE.” Characters’ skin colors range from pale to dark. However, despite diverse characters and bright, textured digital illustrations, the song’s translation to picture book falls flat. Without the melody, the lyrics’ rhythm falters, and such lines as “If you should fall into my arms / And tremble like A FLOWER” ring awkward. Some illustrations seem incongruous with their lyrics, as when a double-page file of cheerleading kids wearing itty-bitty red sneakers illustrates “Put on your red shoes / And dance the blues.” Though adult fans will appreciate nods to Bowie’s eclectic style—lightning bolts pepper the pages, and a child’s shirt is reminiscent of his Union Jack–patterned coat—such touches will be lost on readers unfamiliar with Bowie’s oeuvre.
It’s wonderfully inclusive, but only Bowie’s biggest fans may feel like dancing. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7624-6808-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Running Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
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by Joe Cepeda ; illustrated by Joe Cepeda ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 12, 2019
The book’s simplicity guarantees achievement for beginning readers.
Two kids, probably siblings, explore their surrounding world through magnification.
While the older one remains inside with a microscope, the younger prefers the outside, examining all with a large hand-held magnifying glass. “I see,” the kid declares, focusing on several insects and animals while peering through the glass. A large, blue-black ant grins up through the glass as the child states, “I see an ant.” A butterfly, a snail, and robins’ eggs similarly appear through the glass, all narrated in the short, patterned text. Arriving home with discoveries crawling and flapping behind, the explorer now declares, “We see,” to the older child. The minimalist text is perfect for emerging readers, allowing children the ability to successfully read a whole book. Each repetitive sentence with its additional new word is coupled with recognizable picture cues to help in decoding. Cepeda’s characteristically energetic artwork offers sharp-edged, jagged lines that give it a scratch-art look. The siblings are dressed nearly identically, in blue shorts and red polo shirts, and they have tousled brown hair, beige skin, and big smiles.
The book’s simplicity guarantees achievement for beginning readers. (Picture book/early reader. 4-6)Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4504-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2019
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by Todd H. Doodler & illustrated by Todd H. Doodler ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2011
Unrealistic in several ways but good at least for sniggers, this follow-up to Bear in Underwear (2010) features plenty of views of Bear on the soccer pitch clad in nothing below the waist but undies. The tighty whities of the previous episode give way to dinky pinkies after Bear washes them with his red jersey, but since they’re his lucky underwear he bears the continuing mockery of the opposing squad—“You look like a girl!” “You stink and your shorts are pink!” etc.—to score the winning goal. Not only do the losers change their opinion (“Wow, pink’s alright!”), but Bear’s own team members all don pink BVDs in solidarity: “Pink isn’t yucky! It’s super cool and super lucky!” While there is some charm to the notion of a soccer team that includes a beaver, a hedgehog and Big Foot, it isn't enough to sustain a whole lot of investment on the part of young readers. Logically minded children will wonder why Bear’s lucky (and still-white—this is before the laundry tragedy) undies are the only things gleaming white as Bear and his teammates stand, "covered in mud, including Bear and his lucky underwear." A sliding panel on the front cover that drops Bear’s shorts with the pull of a tab is the high (low) point of this dismal one-joker. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: April 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-60905-077-1
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Blue Apple
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2011
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