The two funniest, most winsome cows on the early-reading circuit have to be Minnie and Moo, always ready to engage any situation with a mixture of slapstick (Moo), sangfroid (Minnie), and a comical use of language. Here, the two are sleeping out under the stars when a storm blows in, bringing lightning and thunder. A bolt hits a nearby barn: “Lightning flashed. Thunder rumbled. There was a scream in the night.” The scream is that of a rooster who is convinced there is a monster in the barn. “Every chicken for himself,” the rooster squawks. Olga, a piglet, is missing, and worse still, when the animals flee to the farmhouse, it appears that the farmer’s leg has been pulled off by the monster and thrown out the window. At least it appears so to the animals; readers will notice rather quickly that the “leg” is an apple-tree branch. It takes Minnie’s sensible head to straighten things out, including the discovery of Olga, shimmering with a halo of electricity after standing too close to the milker when lightning struck. Deceptively sophisticated artwork and lively language—“ ‘Poor Olga,’ a pig wept. ‘Gone,’ cried another. ‘Gone, gone, gone,’ said Zeke. ‘Like a turkey through the corn,’ said Zack”—make this a joy for new readers to tackle. (Easy reader. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-06-623748-3
Page Count: 48
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2001
What if the market was closed when you wanted to bake a pie? You could embark for Europe, learn Italian en route, and pick up some semolina wheat in Italy, an egg in France, kurundu bark for cinnamon in Sri Lanka, and an entire cow in England (butter) before coming home via Jamaica (sugar) and Vermont (apples). The expertly designed illustrations in which a dark-haired lass journeys by various means to these interesting places to get her groceries are lovely and lively, and the narrative, too, travels at a spritely pace. The journey is neither quite logical enough to be truly informative nor quite bizarre enough to be satisfyingly silly, while the rich, sweet recipe that's appended will take some adult assistance. Still, fun. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: May 2, 1994
ISBN: 0-679-83705-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1994
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
© 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
