by Dieter Wiesmüller & illustrated by Dieter Wiesmüller ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 15, 2003
This fresh approach to giving children an appreciation for the natural world is beautifully illustrated in transparent and opaque tempera paint. The title refers to the eyes of animals, captivatingly pictured in extreme close-up on the left side of each spread, opposite an impressionistic painting of the setting in which the animal may be seen. The text challenges readers to look around them and think about the animals they may see, or that may see them first; riddle-like descriptions of the creatures whose eyes are pictured provide hints as to their identity. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to identify the animals by looking at the eye alone; if readers still aren't sure, there is a key at the back. Animals and settings from all over the world are included: a pastoral view of a farm is opposite the eye of a rabbit, the savannah is opposite the eye of a lion, and the rain forest opposite the eye of a leopard. At the very end, the text accompanying a human eye gently brings home the worthy message, “You walk through the world, master of all you see, but don't be blind to the bounty around you.” (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 15, 2003
ISBN: 0-8027-8854-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2003
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by Craig Smith ; illustrated by Katz Cowley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2010
Hee haw.
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The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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by Gary Soto & illustrated by Susan Guevara ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 22, 1995
Chato and Novio Boy, low-riding East Los Angeles homeboys of the feline variety, have dinner guests. The invitees, a family of five fat mice who just moved in next door, haven't an inkling that they are the intended main course. But when the mice bring along their friend Chorizo (a worldly mutt in a slouch beret) to share the grub, he thwarts the cats' connivings. This unlikely three- species chow-down is a sweet salute to Spanish cooking, with fajitas, frijoles, and quesadillas sharing center stage. Soto delivers a spare, clever text; the words skip like stones across water—``His tail began to swing to the rhythm. He felt the twinge of mambo in his hips.'' Guevara's swarming, luxuriant illustrations give the atmosphere palpability, with brushstrokes so fresh readers will want to stick their fingers in the paint to feel its texture. Menace hangs in the air; the artist mixes the sinisterness of R. Crumb with moments of Edvard Munch terror, yet it seems likely from the outset that the mice are more than capable of looking after themselves. Incidental touches—little devils and angels darting about, a bird wedding glimpsed through a window—are there for the sharp-eyed. Smart, with a nice edge. Soto's inspired finger-snapping prose has found an equally imaginative comrade in Guevara's colorful urban paintings. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 22, 1995
ISBN: 0-399-22658-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1995
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