This rhymed complement to Into the A, B, Sea: An Ocean Alphabet (2000) takes children above and below—sometimes far below—the waves with one blue whale calf, two humpbacks, and so on, up to ten turtle hatchlings, and then back down to one “brand-new seal pup.” Jenkins dims the colors of his amazingly lifelike animals only slightly to suggest nocturnal settings, and even in the higher numbers his paper collage scenes never look busy or overcrowded. Readers wondering how to pronounce “nudibranch,” or what’s up with the bits of fluff on the four spider crabs and the eight parrotfish will find answers and other factual tidbits in three pages worth of notes at the back. Appealing to novice enumerators and budding naturalists alike. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-439-33906-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2003
Wormell (An Alphabet of Animals, 1990, etc.) proves that occasionally, the grass is greener elsewhere, at least for three friends who switch homes, and a fourth, who leaves town. Blue Rabbit is discontented with his cave in a forest (which, to children, will be recognizable as a dark area behind some blocks and toys); in his search for better digs, he encounters Bear, sitting in what appears to be an upside-down, water-filled Frisbee. Bear is also unhappy in his habitat; so is Goose, living in a doghouse that smells of old bones, and Dog, whose home seems to be a daisy-covered bedspread. Blue Rabbit successfully relocates his new friends, but finds that he needs the open road and adventure. Those who need a comforting predictability in their stories will be satisfied, but so, too, will be those seeking surprise. The author’s bold linoleum block prints complement the several planes of the plot, all of which are amply appealing. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-8037-2499-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
family’s lucky / that I didn’t want a cow!" (Picture book. 3-6)
A moderately silly counting book, with slick, cartoony, computer-influenced illustrations opposite each page of short rhymed
text. A girl in overalls buys a chick at the General Store, the kind of shop with ribbons and paint, a barrel of pickles and hams hung from the ceiling. Her older sister, charmed by the black chicks, buys two more, and her father, taken by the striped ones, buys three, and so on through her family, until over 50 baby chickens come home to roost. "There were chickens in the kitchen . . . / . . . There were chickens in my bed!" The pigtailed heroine who started it all ends by noting, puckishly, "I guess my
family’s lucky / that I didn’t want a cow!" (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 1-56397-800-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2000
© Copyright 2026 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.
