Anthropomorphic but basically sound and as infectious as the ubiquitous bird’s own “Cheerily-cheerily, cheerily-cheerup,...
Two young robins (“robin teenagers!”) chattily describe their first spring and fall.
Inspired by the appearance of a nest built atop a hoe in her garden shed, Christelow creates a pair of feathered narrators who present their life story—or the first part, at least. That begins in early spring with the arrival of Dad, who stakes out a territory in preparation for the later appearance of Mom. Subsequent nesting, hatching, and fledging occur in due order—with the consumption of “fourteen feet of worms” in the first two weeks alone (“Regurgitated worms! Yum!”). They also lose two sibs to a squirrel and a hawk, practice flying, watch parents and other members of the flock to learn about personal care as well as hazards and food sources, and finally molt and migrate south. In keeping with the informal tone, the author places loosely drawn animal figures in a mix of large single or smaller sequential panels, or sometimes just out on the open page with text enclosed in dialogue balloons. Aside from one poorly placed comment that may leave readers with the impression that Dad fertilized the eggs after they were laid, the natural history is accurate. A closing Q-and-A fills in more detail, including the salient fact that not all robins are migratory.
Anthropomorphic but basically sound and as infectious as the ubiquitous bird’s own “Cheerily-cheerily, cheerily-cheerup, cheerup!” (author’s note, glossary, sources) (Informational picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-544-44289-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hee haw.
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading.
When Franklin School principal Mr. Boone announces a pet-show fundraiser, white third-grader Cody—whose lack of skill and interest in academics is matched by keen enthusiasm for and knowledge of animals—discovers his time to shine.
As with other books in this series, the children and adults are believable and well-rounded. Even the dialogue is natural—no small feat for a text easily accessible to intermediate readers. Character growth occurs, organically and believably. Students occasionally, humorously, show annoyance with teachers: “He made mad squinty eyes at Mrs. Molina, which fortunately she didn’t see.” Readers will be kept entertained by Cody’s various problems and the eventual solutions. His problems include needing to raise $10 to enter one of his nine pets in the show (he really wants to enter all of them), his troublesome dog Angus—“a dog who ate homework—actually, who ate everything and then threw up afterward”—struggles with homework, and grappling with his best friend’s apparently uncaring behavior toward a squirrel. Serious values and issues are explored with a light touch. The cheery pencil illustrations show the school’s racially diverse population as well as the memorable image of Mr. Boone wearing an elephant costume. A minor oddity: why does a child so immersed in animal facts call his male chicken a rooster but his female chickens chickens?
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-374-30223-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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