A vocabulary-filled adventure whose illustrations tell most of the tale.
Miller’s alphabet-centered picture book tells a story of a very peculiar bus ride home.
The three main characters are anthropomorphized zebras; one has typical black stripes, another has light blue ones, and the third’sare fuchsia. As the zebras make their way home from school on the bus, the plot progresses in alliterative phrases, such as “Bye-bye butterflies! Mrs. Brown babbles as the bright bus beeps”; each phrase features words that start with a particular letter from A to Z, sometimes to the detriment of plot coherence. Bus driver Chris and the zebras hike over a mountain after the bus runs out of gas; a serendipitously placed log in a river helps the group make the trip home. Fantastical perils stand in the way, including an octopus, before the zebras safely return to their home at the “Zig-Zag Zipper Zoo.” Much of the story is told through Miller’s illustrations, as the text itself is fairly sparse, due to the alliteration restriction. The rough colored pencil images feature no shading, and scribbles in the sky and on the sidewalk are sometimes distracting. However, the sparsity of the text may spark valuable conversations about how to tell stories with images instead of words. Chris is portrayed with brown skin; other human characters show a range of skin tones.
A vocabulary-filled adventure whose illustrations tell most of the tale.Pub Date: July 22, 2025
ISBN: 9798992264708
Page Count: 52
Publisher: Picture Novels
Review Posted Online: April 25, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
<p>Perfectly fine but nothing new.</p>
Caregiver-child love abounds in this rhyming board book full of animal puns.
One thing’s for certain, there’s plenty of sweet (and groanworthy) sentiments in this book. Rossner writes, “Giving HOGS and kisses / sends me to the moon!” and, “I’m such a lucky DUCK. / You really QUACK me up!” The book progresses entirely in this fashion, with a new animal pair and pun with each page turn. It reads well as a book for a caregiver to share with a lap-sitting child. On that mark, it succeeds in providing plenty of opportunities for giggles and snuggles. That said, at times the meter is forced, making the cadence a bit stilted, and the cuddles/bubbles rhyme is a dubious one. This is an issue for a book that will almost solely be read aloud. Gibson’s illustrations are very charming; the animals and insects with big eyes and expressive faces have high appeal. The warmth of the animals’ embraces and cuddles translates well from the page, inviting the same snuggles from readers. Decorated eggs appear on each page, and the bunny pair from the cover features prominently. Overall, the concept and message of the book are high interest and age-appropriate, but it doesn’t stand out from the very crowded shelf of “I love you, little one!” books similar to it.
<p>Perfectly fine but nothing new.</p> (Board book. 6 mos.-2)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2343-8
Page Count: 25
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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