A young kitten is softly serenaded off to sleep in this cozy tale. Playful rhymes highlight a bustling day in the life of a kitten: scampering after mice, stalking through the lawn, and wreaking havoc with its insatiable curiosity. As twilight falls, the sleepy feline clambers into a favored basket and settles in for a peaceful snooze, secure in the fact that the loving narrator will watch over her. Spinelli’s (In My New Yellow Shirt, p. 746, etc.) comforting poem gently moves readers from playtime to bedtime. Her rhymes are a beguiling blend of whimsy and wonder; interspersed among wry verses that capture the frisky nature of young felines are simple lines filled with bewitching imagery. “Smile your cozy cat grin / Purr your drowsy purr / Snuggle as the bright moon / Dapples down your fur.” Mortimer’s gorgeously detailed, life-like watercolors depicting the rambunctious feline will have readers reaching out to stroke the impossibly soft-looking fur. She also adds a dash of sly humor to her illustrations. Throughout the tale, a mouse can be spotted in every spread, with sometimes just a tail or inquisitive ears visible. This game of cat and mouse concludes with the final illustration showing the two blissfully snuggled up together, fast asleep. Warm and inviting: an ideal wind-down tale for bedtime. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7868-0458-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2001
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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This reassuring picture book exemplifies how parents throughout the animal kingdom make homes for their offspring.
The narrative is written from the point of view of a parent talking to their child: “If you were a beaver, I would gnaw on trees with my teeth to build a cozy lodge for us to sleep in during the day.” Text appears in big, easy-to-read type, with the name of the creature in boldface. Additional facts about the animal appear in a smaller font, such as: “Beavers have transparent eyelids to help them see under water.” The gathering of land, air, and water animals includes a raven, a flying squirrel, and a sea lion. “Home” might be a nest, a den, or a burrow. One example, of a blue whale who has homes in the north and south (ocean is implied), will help children stretch the concept into feeling at home in the larger world. Illustrations of the habitats have an inviting luminosity. Mature and baby animals are realistically depicted, although facial features appear to have been somewhat softened, perhaps to appeal to young readers. The book ends with the comforting scene of a human parent and child silhouetted in the welcoming lights of the house they approach: “Wherever you may be, you will always have a home with me.”
Instills a sense of well-being in youngsters while encouraging them to explore the natural world. (Informational picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-63217-224-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little Bigfoot/Sasquatch
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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What to do when you’re a prickly animal hankering for a hug? Why, find another misfit animal also searching for an embrace!
Sweet but “tricky to hug” little Hedgehog is down in the dumps. Wandering the forest, Hedgehog begs different animals for hugs, but each rejects them. Readers will giggle at their panicked excuses—an evasive squirrel must suddenly count its three measly acorns; a magpie begins a drawn-out song—but will also be indignant on poor hedgehog’s behalf. Hedgehog has the appealingly pink-cheeked softness typical of Dunbar’s art, and the gentle watercolors are nonthreatening, though she also captures the animals’ genuine concern about being poked. A wise owl counsels the dejected hedgehog that while the prickles may frighten some, “there’s someone for everyone.” That’s when Hedgehog spots a similarly lonely tortoise, rejected due to its “very hard” shell but perfectly matched for a spiky new friend. They race toward each other until the glorious meeting, marked with swoony peach swirls and overjoyed grins. At this point, readers flip the book to hear the same gloomy tale from the tortoise’s perspective until it again culminates in that joyous hug, a book turn that’s made a pleasure with thick creamy paper and solid binding.
Watching unlikely friends finally be as “happy as two someones can be” feels like being enveloped in your very own hug. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-571-34875-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Review Posted Online: Jan. 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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