Established and new fans alike will find much to love in this whimsical outing.
Starla Jean and her beloved chicken, Opal Egg, are back for a second escapade.
Starla Jean can’t want to make a cake for her baby sister’s first birthday party, but they’ve run out of eggs. Dad offers to get some from the store, but Starla Jean believes in Opal Egg’s ability to lay an egg in time. Proactive Starla Jean goes to work supporting her feathered friend with encouragement, exercise, and relaxation, but the nesting box remains disappointingly empty. Will Opal Egg lay an egg in time? And what if it’s not exactly the kind of egg Starla Jean had in mind? Following the structure of the first, much-lauded book, this story for transitional readers is told in four short chapters. Colorful illustrations on every page have a hipster aesthetic and are rendered in friendly colors and soft textures. Starla Jean’s bright, bold narration is printed in large, easy-to-read type bolstered by generous white space between and around words, sentences, and blocks of text. The intrigue of the mysterious meowing Starla Jean hears is somewhat muddled by the visual presence of Starla Jean’s own black cat; nevertheless, the story’s punchline is amusing and joyous. The book is equally charming as a stand-alone or follow-up to series openerStarla Jean(2021). Starla Jean’s family is depicted with light-brown or dark hair and pale skin. The new kid in the neighborhood is drawn with light-brown skin and dark-brown hair.
Established and new fans alike will find much to love in this whimsical outing. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: April 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-30578-7
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A story of friendship that is both lively and lovely
Two friends embark upon a high-seas adventure.
Kondo, a large lemon-colored creature with wide round eyes, spends his day on his island home with his best friend, tangerine-hued Kezumi. Together, they frolic on their idyllic isle picking berries (tall Kondo nabs the higher fruit while Kezumi helps to retrieve the lower) while surrounded by tiny “flitter-birds” and round “fluffle-bunnies.” One day, Kezumi finds a map in a bottle that declares “WE ARE NOT ALONE.” Inspired by visions of a larger world, Kondo and Kezumi fashion a boat from a bathtub and set sail. The pair visits fantastical islands—deliciously cheese-laden Dairy Isle, the fiery and fearsome Fireskull Island—until they eventually settle upon the titular Giant Island, where they meet Albert, a gigantic gray talking mountain who is—obviously—unable to leave. Enthralled by his new friends, Albert wants them to stay forever. After Albert makes a fraught decision, Kondo and Kezumi find themselves at a crossroads and must confront their new friend. Goodner and Tsurumi’s brightly illustrated chapter book should find favor with fans of Kate DiCamillo and Chris Van Dusen’s similarly designed Mercy Watson series. Short, wry, descriptive sentences make for an equally enjoyable experience whether read aloud or independently. Episodic chapters move the action along jauntily; the conclusion is somewhat abrupt, but it promises more exploration and adventures for the best friends. (This review was originally published in the June 1, 2019, issue. The book data has been updated to reflect changes in publisher and date of publication.)
A story of friendship that is both lively and lovely (Fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-368-02577-5
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
No red—but lots of tooth and claw on display.
Face-to-face introductions to over two dozen creatures it would be better to avoid.
Labeling each predator as either extinct or modern-day, Jenkins arranges his paper-collage portraits—most of them rendered, as usual, with seemingly miraculous realism—in no readily obvious order. Starting off with the cruel-beaked “terror bird” (extinct) of South America and toothy views of a gaping Siberian tiger and T. Rex, he proceeds past African wild dogs (“some of the most successful predators on earth, with nine out of ten hunts ending in a kill”), the electric eel, killer pig Daedon, 48-foot-long (14.5 m) Titanoboa, and like threats to the spiderlike Trigonotarbid, just an inch long (2.5 cm) but 400 million years ago one of the largest predators on land. Then, in true browser-rousing fashion, he proposes several matchups, like the Siberian tiger vs. Utahraptor. Place your bets! Each creature comes with descriptive notes and a small silhouette posed next to a human (“The deadliest predator”) for scale. Measurements for each creature are provided in first English and then metric units. The bibliography includes an unremarkable assortment of reference works and websites.
No red—but lots of tooth and claw on display. (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: June 6, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-544-67160-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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