A droll episode, with any lesson or moral beyond, maybe, “try, try again” absent or well-buried.
Persistence pays off for an urban raccoon determined to upgrade his garbage-based diet.
Weary of scrounging “rotten junk” from rubbish bins and hearing that the animals in the nearby zoo get fresh food every day, Roscoe tries to sneak in: first disguised as a tortoise beneath a green umbrella, then as a penguin with a pointy ice cream cone for a beak. Unsurprisingly, neither silly disguise fools the surly zookeeper. Finally, at the monkeys’ invitation, he steals the zookeeper’s keys to join them in their cage—whereupon they leave him chowing down and scamper off to set all the animals free. Chaos ensues. Done in a retro style with flatly applied, low-contrast colors, the cartoon illustrations are well-stocked with active, comically expressive figures. The narrative’s poker-faced tone (“ ‘That’s not for pests like you!’ growled the zookeeper. He was not a good-tempered man”) adds a similarly antique flavor. The locale isn’t specified beyond “a park in the middle of a big city,” but some of the skyscrapers visible beyond the zoo’s low walls may look familiar to young New Yorkers. In any case, at day’s end Roscoe generously offers the last banana in the bucket to the frazzled zookeeper and saunters off with a belch.
A droll episode, with any lesson or moral beyond, maybe, “try, try again” absent or well-buried. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-909263-53-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Flying Eye Books
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2015
A lackluster effort to latch on to a stalwart classic.
A new adventure for the little white dog with black spots, rendered “in the styles” of the original series’ author and illustrator.
Opening as usual—“Harry was a white dog with black spots who liked everything…”—the tale finds Harry “not pleased” that a visiting guinea pig is “getting all the attention.” He regains his top-dog status after sneaking into school and (somehow) opening its cage during show-and-tell, then tracking it through the playground, past a shushing librarian, and into the cafeteria, where it is sitting on a table munching veggies. The children’s praise for this “clever detective work” settles Harry’s ruffled fur so he can happily get “back to his old tricks.” After this bland story, readers may well be happy to return to those old tricks as well. Aside from tinting the skin of Harry’s family slightly (they now have peach skin and rosy cheeks but still present White) and introducing some racial diversity to the school’s group scenes Joshaghani’s illustrations don’t add anything fresh or updated either. But this is meant, after all, to be a nostalgia trip. Starting with the cover picture, the figures, furnishings, dress, décor, and even the overall compositions echo Margaret Bloy Graham’s. At least this offers the comfort of familiarity…and the actual author and illustrator get title-page credits (albeit in much smaller type than Graham and Gene Zion). (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 77% of actual size.)
A lackluster effort to latch on to a stalwart classic. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-274773-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2020
An appealing and beautifully illustrated educational tale celebrating animals and the great outdoors.
A child enjoys nature and hopes to see a moose in this counting book.
Oscar and his parents look for a moose on their trail walk. Along the way, they count down from 10 to one, emphasizing things they come across. For example, “six chipmunks scurry by,” and they spy “four branches in the breeze.” After Oscar notices “three hoofprints,” he hopes they indicate that a moose is nearby. But he is disappointed when they still haven’t spotted one. As the family packs up and gets ready to go home, Oscar is elated to see a moose standing by the car. As they try to stay still, the boy’s mother photographs a smiling Oscar atop his father’s shoulders. Hersey’s text features jaunty language (“Creak. Crack. Timber! Slam!”), which will keep readers engaged. The book introduces various elements children might see in nature, such as beavers building a dam. Halsey’s illustrations feature brush strokes, distinctive textures, and light-skinned humans. The greenery, a serene pond, and the realistic animal portrayals are especially nice. Subtext is cleverly incorporated. The numbers mentioned in the story are artfully embedded in the images. For instance, the phrase “seven slimy worms” has an accompanying picture depicting a worm shaped like that numeral. Also included is an illustration showing the exact locations of the numbers. Key words are often in boldface or shaped. For example, the words Squiggle! Squirm! are curved.
An appealing and beautifully illustrated educational tale celebrating animals and the great outdoors.Pub Date: Nov. 24, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-73230-204-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: McSea Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 23, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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