Fans of Kevin Sherry’s I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean (2007) or Bob Shea’s Cheetah Can’t Lose (2013) will enjoy this...
A tiger cub and a baby crocodile square off for bragging rights.
In language that evokes the backyard more than Bengal, a little crocodile erupts from the river with a “BOO!” to make the title claim. The startled tigerlet responds: “Excuse me? I’m a TIGER. Way scarier than you.” The squabble escalates quickly both in scope (“I can scale the skin off a sambar. You’re just a dinky lil’ mudpuppy”; “You don’t know diddly squat”) and volume. It breaks off suddenly as ominous shadows signal the arrival of something “BIG…and SCARY!” That would be their moms, coming to collect them and who, both youngsters agree with relief, are really the scariest. Said moms have actually been intermittently visible all along, hanging back with indulgent looks in Derrick’s loosely drawn and brushed cartoon scenes. Perspectives vary, including a vertically oriented spread in which the tiger boasts of attacking from trees, and the climax of the argument faces the two off nose to nose in close-up as their tiny avatars pose atop all of the rhinos, elephants and water buffalo they can beat up in their imaginations. Labeled sketches on the endpapers provide a “Field Guide” to various jungle animals that put in cameos.
Fans of Kevin Sherry’s I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean (2007) or Bob Shea’s Cheetah Can’t Lose (2013) will enjoy this lively exchange of views. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-59702-087-9
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Immedium
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
Sure to “net” young audiences, who will definitely root for the birds.
A peace-waging parable, presented with wry minimalism à la Jon Klassen or Tomi Ungerer.
Carrying nets, three hunters creep up on a sleeping bird in a dark forest, but thanks to their own clumsiness, they repeatedly manage to get in one another’s way as the bird slips off. Meanwhile, despite their frantic shushing, a smaller, fourth figure waves and calls out “hello birdie,” offering bread. Soon, an entire flock has gathered around number four’s feet—a flock that proceeds to turn and chase the hunters away. The text runs to just a few words per page, but it neatly serves to crank up the suspense: “ready one / ready two / ready three… // GO!” Haughton (Oh No, George!, 2012) uses a palette of deep blues and purples for his simple forest scenes; this causes the hunters’ googly eyes to stand out comically and also makes the fuchsia, red and orange birds easy to spot and follow. Last seen creeping up on a squirrel, the hunters have plainly learned nothing from their experience…but young readers might.
Sure to “net” young audiences, who will definitely root for the birds. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7293-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
A snug, funny round of hijinks by low dogs.
Housebound wiener dogs Augie and Perry get up to no good when left on their own.
Posing his pooches on four legs or, anthropomorphically, two (or even, at the beginning, as busts on stands), Falconer takes a break from his long-running Olivia series to proffer as winsome a doggy duo as ever was. Drawn with great and often hilariously expressive precision—and frequently placed on entirely blank backgrounds to call attention to the fact—the two dachshunds appear at first glance as dignified as “little Roman emperors.” Appearances can be deceiving, though: “Most of the time Augie looked more serious. Perry was all over the place.” As their human family, never seen (except once as light-skinned hands), is gone all day at work or school, the dogs look for ways to relieve their boredom…first by tussling over a ball, then by figuring out how to open the back door to an exciting world of flowers to water, a pool to splash in, and, best of all, a lawn to excavate (“Dachshunds love to dig”). The sound of a car pulling in may touch off some momentary panic (“We’re going to get in TROUBLE, Augie!”), but dachshunds are also smart enough to run back inside and exude innocence convincingly enough to earn treats rather than punishment. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A snug, funny round of hijinks by low dogs. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: June 28, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-295447-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Michael di Capua/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
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