In rhyming couplets, a pair of distressed parents work to convince their naturist son that clothes really would be a good idea: “If you went to school naked, could you play ball? / Steal second base? NO, not at all!” Retro illustrations in pastel-colored acrylics feature a pink-skinned tot with an oversized head in double-page spreads that imagine all the possible disasters: no pockets for pencil stubs, a horrific sunburn, being mistaken for a pig. By the end, he’s convinced he has to wear something—but, by golly, it’ll be on his own terms. Just saying the word “naked” will convulse a preschool audience; this is bound to find plenty of happy readers. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: July 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-399-24738-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2008
Loewen’s story is a simple snapshot of kindergarten graduation day, and it stays true to form, with Yoshikawa’s artwork resembling photos that might be placed in an album—and the illustrations cheer, a mixed media of saturated color, remarkable depth and joyful expression. The author comfortably captures the hesitations of making the jump from kindergarten to first grade without making a fuss about it, and she makes the prospect something worth the effort. Trepidation aside, this is a reminder of how much fun kindergarten was: your own cubbyhole, the Halloween parade, losing a tooth, “the last time we’ll ever sit criss-cross applesauce together.” But there is also the fledgling’s pleasure at shucking off the past—swabbing the desks, tossing out the stubbiest crayons, taking the pictures off the wall—and surging into the future. Then there is graduation itself: donning the mortarboards, trooping into the auditorium—“Mr. Meyer starts playing a serious song on the piano. It makes me want to cry. It makes me want to march”—which will likely have a few adult readers feeling the same. (Picture book. 4-5)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5807-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2011
In The Jungle ($9.95; Oct. 1996; 14 pp.; 0-316-11821-4): Tangerine orangutans, banana-billed toucans, and other jungle critters flit, scamper, and hide in the green leaves of this pop-up jungle. This entry in the Hide and Seek series makes exploring the jungle environment fun and informative; among the good surprises are the spiders that suddenly descend from the treetops. The gregarious drawings are aimed at young viewers, whose only frustration may be the stiffness of some of the paper engineering. (Pop-up. 3-5)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-316-11821-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1996
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