Dumheiten at its loosest and Seussest in the lastest eagerly-hailed silliness by the master of inanities. "`But if I ran a zoo,' said young Gerald McGrew"...and a collection of splendiferous doohinkees parade across the pages as young McGrew travels to odd places, tempting his zoo creatures into nets and boxes. There is a lion with ten legs, a family of What do you -know (four placid white blobs in a pleased family group athwart a snowplow), a Thwerll (a mournful entity with legs criss-crossing and coiling like a road map), the Russian Palooski ("whose headski is redski and belly is blueski") — and so it goes while people cry: "What do you suppose he will capture this week!" The illustrations — some full page —are in three colors. It is true that some children do not take to unrelieved nonsense, and this book has little coordinated story —so feel out your readers and buyers. However, this will not disappoint the devoted.
Pub Date: Oct. 12, 1950
ISBN: 0394800818
Page Count: 61
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Oct. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1950
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Sylvester's "only chance of becoming himself again was for someone to find the red pebble and to wish that the rock next to it would be a donkey"—surely the prize predicament of the year and, in William Steig's pearly colors, one of the prettiest. How Mother and Father Duncan (donkey), despairing of finding their son, do eventually break the red pebble's spell and bring back Sylvester is a fable of happy families of all breeds.
Pub Date: March 1, 1969
ISBN: 1416902066
Page Count: 42
Publisher: Windmill Books
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1969
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