This fast-paced mystery is a fun addition to this series for new readers.
Smart dog King and his human, Kayla, help a lost dog find his people.
King and Kayla work together to solve mysteries, with King narrating their tales in his distinctive voice. The two are on vacation at Grandma’s house near a lake, and King discovers a new friend in the bushes. King soon learns that Fred lost his humans during the firecrackers “five or one nights ago.” His collar is lost, but Kayla guesses from his behavior that he is not a stray. Since Kayla can’t understand “a word Fred says,” King is the one to collect clues. He learns that Fred’s family is staying at a campground, but he can’t add this to Kayla’s “list of things we know.” He can’t add the campground’s location to Kayla’s “list of things we don’t know.” While Kayla tries to devise a plan, King tries to communicate his—find the campground! The humans don’t understand, but luckily, Kayla asks Grandma if they can ride on the lake and ask other boaters. From the water, Fred sees the campground, and he eagerly jumps, swims, and reunites with his people. Simple, clean, line-drawn and digitally colored illustrations depict happy, lovable animals and a diverse cast of humans. Kayla and Grandma are black, and Fred’s family is brown.
This fast-paced mystery is a fun addition to this series for new readers. (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: March 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68263-052-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor
Having surveyed worms, spiders, flies, and head lice, Gravel continues her Disgusting Critters series with a quick hop through toad fact and fancy.
The facts are briefly presented in a hand-lettered–style typeface frequently interrupted by visually emphatic interjections (“TOXIN,” “PREY,” “EWWW!”). These are, as usual, paired to simply drawn cartoons with comments and punch lines in dialogue balloons. After casting glances at the common South American ancestor of frogs and toads, and at such exotic species as the Emei mustache toad (“Hey ladies!”), Gravel focuses on the common toad, Bufo bufo. Using feminine pronouns throughout, she describes diet and egg-laying, defense mechanisms, “warts,” development from tadpole to adult, and of course how toads shed and eat their skins. Noting that global warming and habitat destruction have rendered some species endangered or extinct, she closes with a plea and, harking back to those South American origins, an image of an outsized toad, arm in arm with a dark-skinned lad (in a track suit), waving goodbye: “Hasta la vista!”
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor . (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77049-667-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
A nicely inventive little morality “tail” for newly independent readers.
Two little rats decide to show the world how tough they are, with unpredictable results.
Louie and Ralphie Ratso want to be just like their single dad, Big Lou: tough! They know that “tough” means doing mean things to other animals, like stealing Chad Badgerton’s hat. Chad Badgerton is a big badger, so taking that hat from him proves that Louie and Ralphie are just as tough as they want to be. However, it turns out that Louie and Ralphie have just done a good deed instead of a bad one: Chad Badgerton had taken that hat from little Tiny Crawley, a mouse, so when Tiny reclaims it, they are celebrated for goodness rather than toughness. Sadly, every attempt Louie and Ralphie make at doing mean things somehow turns nice. What’s a little boy rat supposed to do to be tough? Plus, they worry about what their dad will say when he finds out how good they’ve been. But wait! Maybe their dad has some other ideas? LaReau keeps the action high and completely appropriate for readers embarking on chapter books. Each of the first six chapters features a new, failed attempt by Louie and Ralphie to be mean, and the final, seventh chapter resolves everything nicely. The humor springs from their foiled efforts and their reactions to their failures. Myers’ sprightly grayscale drawings capture action and characters and add humorous details, such as the Ratsos’ “unwelcome” mat.
A nicely inventive little morality “tail” for newly independent readers. (Fiction. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7636-0
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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