Keeping lines to four words or less but with vocabulary that will challenge emergent readers, Dodds (The Kettles Get New Clothes, 2002, etc.) sends a clown across circus grounds in search of an errant puppy. Using a bright red-orange color scheme with occasional flashes of deep blue, Pratt (No, No, Jack!, 2002, etc.) depicts the diminutive searcher questioning a succession of busy acrobats and animal tenders: “Hi there, Jess! Hi there, Bess! Where’s Pup?” “Can’t see. Go ask Lee. He’s launching Dee.” Finally the quest ends: “Can’t find Pup? Just look up”—at a page that unfolds . . . and unfolds . . . and unfolds again to reveal a human pyramid with the smiling stray at the very top. Fans of P.D. Eastman’s Are You My Mother? (1960), Eric Hill’s Where’s Spot? (1980), and a plethora of similar hide-and-seek variants will welcome this fresh addition to the genre, particularly for its crowd-pleasing climax. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-8037-2744-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2003
PLB 0-7868-2469-7 Kirk (Bigger, 1998, etc.) spins out an extraterrestrial version of the familiar lullaby, featuring a four-armed father promising his banana-colored little one, among other prizes, a shooting star, an astronaut (against the astronaut’s wishes, it appears), a laser rifle, tools to build a spaceship and, finally, a good-night kiss. Giving his aliens the look of hard-shelled retro toys with large liquid eyes, the author develops a silent plotline—the little alien builds the spaceship because he’s melted the old one with his new laser—as they move from a near-Earth orbit to the bottle-strewn Milky Way. It’s a bedtime journey as loving, if not quite as soporific, as the original. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-7868-0538-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
Jeram brings back characters from Bunny, My Honey (1999) for this poignant tale about families. Although they are different species, the three friends—Bunny, Little Duckling, and Miss Mouse—form a unique family along with Mommy Rabbit. Instead of trying to make her “little Honeys” conform to some one ideal, the wise mother rabbit embraces their differences, incorporating their individuality into a special song created for the trio. Soft pastel illustrations capture both the playfulness of the threesome, and the loving bonds of the family. Through the song and the games the Honeys play, Jeram encourages readers to rejoice in diversity—a warm and timely message in a world full of complex and extended families. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0846-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1999
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
