Duck, duck…who?
That’s what literal-minded Goose wants to know when, seated among various animal pals playing the familiar circle game, callers keep tagging the “goose”—but the other animals, not the actual goose in their midst. Continually bypassed, Goose becomes incensed and increasingly disruptive. Rabbit, irate after repeated attempts to calm Goose down with assurances that eventually everyone will have a turn, demands order. Goose presents a chart that lists physical characteristics of geese and nongeese! By now civility is in shambles, and furious Rabbit threatens to end the game. Chastened, players reconvene, the game resumes, and lo, Goose is finally tagged! But then…a new group of (hint) waddling players comes along—just when it’s Goose’s turn to be the caller—throwing an unexpected, hilarious wrench into the proceedings and bringing the story to a riotous conclusion. This honking good tale is told entirely through speech balloons, with dialogue that reveals much about characters’ distinctive personalities; additional comic relief is supplied by a trio of red squirrels, wryly commenting on the goings-on from their tree perch. Delicate cartoon illustrations add wit and humorous energy to the frenetic events, including expressive faces and the dapper attire in which the players are dressed: Goose sports a backward blue baseball cap, for instance.
Giggling readers won’t duck out from playing the game once they’ve savored this funny tale. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-328-84159-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS
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Abuela is coming to stay with Mia and her parents. But how will they communicate if Mia speaks little Spanish and Abuela, little English? Could it be that a parrot named Mango is the solution?
The measured, evocative text describes how Mia’s español is not good enough to tell Abuela the things a grandmother should know. And Abuela’s English is too poquito to tell Mia all the stories a granddaughter wants to hear. Mia sets out to teach her Abuela English. A red feather Abuela has brought with her to remind her of a wild parrot that roosted in her mango trees back home gives Mia an idea. She and her mother buy a parrot they name Mango. And as Abuela and Mia teach Mango, and each other, to speak both Spanish and English, their “mouths [fill] with things to say.” The accompanying illustrations are charmingly executed in ink, gouache, and marker, “with a sprinkling of digital magic.” They depict a cheery urban neighborhood and a comfortable, small apartment. Readers from multigenerational immigrant families will recognize the all-too-familiar language barrier. They will also cheer for the warm and loving relationship between Abuela and Mia, which is evident in both text and illustrations even as the characters struggle to understand each other. A Spanish-language edition, Mango, Abuela, y yo, gracefully translated by Teresa Mlawer, publishes simultaneously.
This warm family story is a splendid showcase for the combined talents of Medina, a Pura Belpré award winner, and Dominguez, an honoree. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6900-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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Hee haw.
43
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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. 29, 2018
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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