A mildly interesting way to introduce artistic expression to a preschool audience. (Picture book. 4-6)
A child’s inquisitive search for a lost pencil takes him on an imaginary tour.
Missing his favorite blue pencil, a little boy visualizes his way through “the land of lost things.” On his quest he encounters not just his own but a “forest of lost blue pencils.” Ripping a pencil from one of the trees releases a flood of dark blue color that spreads across the page. Wielding an eraser, the boy creates a newly white space to reveal a setting sun, green centipede and a butterfly of many colors—really his lost golden button, comb and scissors. Soon, still wandering in this strange world of mislaid items, the boy finds his flashlight and holey red sock amid a flock of flying ones as he follows the path to “a mountain of mittens” and walks through “a garden of lost umbrellas.” Still unable to find his original blue pencil, a brown one from his pencil box creates a new drawing of inspired adventure. The boy’s inventive exploration is depicted with whimsical art in digital collage, opaque watercolors and markers. The art creates the necessary fanciful atmosphere for this tale, as the bilingual telling lacks verve.
A mildly interesting way to introduce artistic expression to a preschool audience. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: May 31, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-55885-690-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Piñata Books/Arte Público
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
A fun-filled take on a familiar childhood milestone.
Bonnie O’Boy’s dream comes true when she gets a bike and then must learn an important part of riding it: how to stop.
The title of Proimos’ novel for teens, 12 Things to Do Before You Crash and Burn (2011), is only tangentially related to this picture-book offering, in which Bonnie crashes after failing to heed Mother’s warning: “You can’t just go ride all willy-nilly.” Willy-nilly she goes, and ensuing spreads imaginatively depict her riding over bridges, mountains, elephants and more, and she simply cannot stop. Although it may strike some as odd that Bonnie needs no practice (let alone training wheels) to balance, they’ll enjoy connecting the aforementioned fantasy scenes of the bridge, mountains, elephant, etc., with toys and other backyard landmarks. Luckily, she only crashes into her little brother Charley’s building project. Her parents comfort her, her father helpfully saying, “Here are the brakes,” and in a pictorial nod to safety, Bonnie dons a helmet. Meanwhile, Charley rebuilds his play farm, and Bonnie again sets off around the yard. Throughout, Wright’s acrylic-and-ink illustrations employ a colorful, naive style to capture the exuberance of Bonnie’s first bike ride, while promising that although this initial taste of two-wheeled freedom may be the “best,” there are many joyful rides in store—perhaps astride her next secret wish: a pony.
A fun-filled take on a familiar childhood milestone. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: June 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3850-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: April 10, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2012
A visual muddle makes for an early-reader fail.
Animal friends save the day when a dragon’s birthday party gets out of hand in this graphic-novel addition to the venerable Step into Reading line.
Elephant Joe and Zebra Pete hide in the bushes so they can jump out to surprise their friend Dragon. However, instead of appreciating the birthday surprise, Dragon flies into a tree and becomes entangled in the branches. The two friends suddenly turn into firefighters, complete with a ladder truck, for the rescue. After saving him, the friends present the birthday cake, but Dragon sets it afire while blowing out the candles. With no fire hydrant for water, Dragon picks up Elephant Joe and flies to a lake, where the pachyderm’s handy trunk sucks up water to save the day. While the cartoon illustrations will draw young readers in, the story is hard to follow. How did these two buddies instantaneously become firefighters? It might be a game of pretend, but to literal-minded young readers, that premise will be unclear. Though the speech bubbles are fun, including a frog who seems to act as narrator is another point of confusion, as it’s not always clear from its dialogue whether it’s interacting with the characters or describing the action. For a comic-book early-reader to succeed, the speech bubbles and graphic elements need to make sense. The digital art is colorful and amusing, with the animals’ expressions and eye movements telling much of the story.
A visual muddle makes for an early-reader fail. (Early reader. 4-6)Pub Date: May 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-37406-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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