by David Hyde Costello ; illustrated by David Hyde Costello ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 2, 2017
Here’s hoping Little Pig will take his time growing up and gift readers with a few more tales of being smallest.
Little Pig’s still too small to do everything his brothers and sisters do…but it turns out that’s not a problem.
Little Pig’s four older siblings are going to sailing camp, but Little Pig’s not old enough. Eldest sibling Tiny gives him a rope to practice knots, but one whole day of tying knots is enough. Thankfully, Poppy and Grandpa come over, and Poppy brings a model ship he’s carving. Little Pig helps Poppy finish the ship. They sail it on Monday and Tuesday and in the rain on Wednesday. They build a dock Thursday and sail it all the way across the river Friday. On Saturday it gets away from them and goes over a waterfall in a dramatic sequence that’s perfectly gauged for the audience. Poppy can’t catch it. Little Pig runs to the bridge, remembers the rope Tiny gave him, and makes use of those knots he practiced. He saves the day just in time to share sailing stories with all his siblings, home from camp. Costello’s second title starring Little Pig’s as charming as his earlier Little Pig Joins the Band (2011). The inviting watercolor-and-ink illustrations are a well-paced mix of full-bleed, spot, and cartoon panels dotted with speech bubbles that illuminate the close, intergenerational relationship between Little Pig and Poppy. Young listeners will identify with being too little but still quite capable.
Here’s hoping Little Pig will take his time growing up and gift readers with a few more tales of being smallest. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: May 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-58089-715-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
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by Hoda Kotb ; illustrated by Chloe Dominique ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2024
Pleasant enough but not particularly original.
Uplifting messages of positivity from the Today show anchor.
Hope springs eternal, so the saying goes. Kotb agrees, here delivering to children the cheery news that hope lives inside all of them and that whatever they might wish for can be theirs. All they need is a sunny outlook, and the possibilities for happy outcomes are virtually endless. Children’s dreams can be in-the-moment ones—like purple ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry—or more far-ranging ones, such as growing tall enough to reach that high shelf easily or for hair that’s long enough to braid. It doesn’t matter, the author reassures young readers. Your aspirations will be realized, so don’t give up on them—just keep believing in them and, most of all, in yourself. Throughout, Kotb calls hope a rainbow, a feeling, a gift, and a wish. Hope is “new friends you’ll find— / friends who are loving and funny and kind.” Hope is “practicing your heart out, letter by letter.” The book’s overarching theme is upbeat, but its bouncy rhyming text is clumsy. The child-appealing illustrations are colorful and lively, though they have a generic look. The cast of wide-eyed characters is racially diverse; some have visible disabilities.
Pleasant enough but not particularly original. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9780593624128
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
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by Hoda Kotb ; illustrated by Suzie Mason
by Karma Wilson ; illustrated by Jane Chapman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 16, 2024
Cheery fun that will leave series fans “egg”-static.
In his latest outing, Bear and his pals go in search of eggs.
Bear “lumbers with his friends through the Strawberry Vale.” Raven finds a nest; climbing up, “The bear finds eggs!”: a refrain that appears throughout. Instead of eating the robin’s eggs, however, Bear leaves a gift of dried berries in the nest for the “soon-to-be-chicks.” Next, the friends find 10 mallard eggs (as bright blue as the robin’s), and Bear leaves sunflower seeds. Then the wail of Mama Meadowlark, whose bright yellow undercarriage strikes a warm golden note, leads them to promise to find her lost eggs. With his friends’ assistance, Bear finds one, and they decide to paint them “so they aren’t lost again.” Another is discovered, painted, and placed in Hare’s basket. After hours of persistent searching, Bear suddenly spots the remaining two eggs “in a small patch of clover.” Before they can return these eggs, the chicks hatch and rejoin their mother. Back at his lair, Bear, with his troupe, is visited by all 17 chicks and the robin, mallard, and meadowlark moms: “And the bear finds friends!” Though this sweet spring tale centers on finding and painting eggs, it makes no overt references to Easter. The soft green and blue acrylics, predictable rhymes, and rolling rhythm make this series installment another low-key natural read-aloud.
Cheery fun that will leave series fans “egg”-static. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781665936552
Page Count: 40
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
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More by Karma Wilson
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by Karma Wilson ; illustrated by AG Ford
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by Karma Wilson ; illustrated by Jane Chapman
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by Karma Wilson ; illustrated by Jane Chapman
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